Restaurant Style Salsa

Restaurant Style Salsa

The best part of going to a Mexican restaurant is the homemade chips and salsa. With this recipe, you can bring the Restaurant Style Salsa to your own home. The great thing about making your own salsa is that you can make it as mild or spicy as you would like.

What’s the key ingredient to any salsa? That’s right, tomatoes! Every salsa requires tomatoes, and canned diced tomatoes do just the trick to create a simple, flavorful salsa. Not only do canned tomatoes provide a boost of juiciness to a dish, but they also have numerous health benefits. This specific recipe calls for canned fire-roasted diced tomatoes, but you can also use regular canned diced tomatoes for a different flavor profile. The mixture of onions, fresh cilantro, lime juice, garlic, and spices provides the perfect combination of savory and spicy flavor. Don’t be shy and feel free to add more spices and veggies for even more spice!

While fresh, chopped tomatoes can be used for salsa, it’s actually better to use the canned version! Research has shown that canned tomatoes are actually higher in nutritional value than fresh tomatoes due to the canning process (and they’re more affordable). When canned tomatoes are placed into their homes (aka the cans), they are stored at nutritional peak, providing them with maximum nutrition. What’s not to love about that? So, incorporate some nutrients into your daily diet than by enjoying a refreshing bowl of salsa.

 

Restaurant Style Salsa

Restaurant Style Salsa

The best part of going to a Mexican restaurant is the homemade chips and salsa. With this recipe, you can bring the Restaurant Style Salsa to your own home. The great thing about making your own salsa is that you can make it as mild or spicy as you would like.

Prep Time 10 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 (28 oz.) can whole peeled tomatoes with juice
  • 1 cup fresh cilantro
  • ½ small red onion, roughly chopped
  • 2 jalapenos, roughly chopped and seeds and membranes removed
  • 2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
  • 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
  • ½ tsp. kosher salt

Instructions

  1. Add all of the ingredients into a blender.
  2. Blend the ingredients until the salsa reaches your desired texture, smooth or chunky.
  3. Taste for seasoning. Add more salt or lime juice if necessary.
  4. Pour the salsa into a bowl and refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
For other delicious dip recipes, check out:

The BEST BLT Dip
Tomato Pesto Hummus
California Walnut Salsa

California Walnut Salsa

California Walnut Salsa

This nutritious California Walnut Salsa recipe is not only packed with flavor, but it can be prepared in under 10 minutes. This specific salsa recipe also contains roasted red peppers, jalapeno peppers, and toasted walnuts—giving it an extra kick of flavor and crunch. All you need to do is stir all the ingredients into a medium-sized bowl, cover, and refrigerate it until it’s ready to serve. It doesn’t get much easier than that! Serve it up with your favorite veggies and a side of whole-wheat tortilla chips for a tasty snack that is sure to be a crowd-pleaser.

What’s the key ingredient to any salsa? That’s right, tomatoes! Every salsa requires tomatoes, and canned diced tomatoes do just the trick to create a simple, flavorful salsa. Not only do canned tomatoes provide a boost of juiciness to a dish, but they also have numerous health benefits. This specific recipe calls for canned fire-roasted diced tomatoes, but you can also use regular canned diced tomatoes for a different flavor profile. The mixture of onions, fresh cilantro, lime juice, garlic, and spices provides the perfect combination of savory and spicy flavor. Don’t be shy and feel free to add more spices and veggies for even more spice!

While fresh, chopped tomatoes can be used for salsa, it’s actually better to use the canned version! Research has shown that canned tomatoes are actually higher in nutritional value than fresh tomatoes due to the canning process (and they’re more affordable). When canned tomatoes are placed into their homes (aka the cans), they are stored at nutritional peak, providing them with maximum nutrition. What’s not to love about that? So, incorporate some nutrients into your daily diet than by enjoying a refreshing bowl of salsa.

Get the full recipe for California Walnut Salsa by visiting our friends at California Walnuts.

For other delicious dip recipes, check out:

The BEST BLT Dip
Tomato Pesto Hummus

A Red, White, & Blue 4th of July

A Red, White, & Blue 4th of July

A Red, White, & Blue 4th of July

Go red this 4th of July with canned tomatoes! Invite over some friends and celebrate good health with a simple, nutritious red, white, and blue appetizer from dietitian Sharon Palmer.

By Sharon Palmer, RD, author of Plant-Powered for Life

This 4th of July, let’s remember where our food roots come from. Most traditional, cultural diets—whether from Peru or Asia—are based on plants. Even in our own country, our diet once gravitated more towards plants. My mother, who grew up in Arkansas, enjoyed a wholesome plant-based diet; a typical meal was black-eyed peas, foraged greens, roasted tomatoes, and cornbread. It’s amazing to think about how far we’ve strayed away from a plant-centric diet in the United States in recent years.

Now when we think about most foods in the “Western diet,” we tend to think of foods characterized by large amounts of animal products, and few whole plant foods. It’s no surprise that this eating style has been linked with our current epidemic of chronic disease and obesity.

But there’s good news.

Many of America’s favorite foods can be made by better-tasting and better-for-you by piling on America’s favorite condiments – tomato products, including salsa, ketchup, and tomato sauce.

So healthy are tomato products that high intakes have been associated with important health benefits, including reduced risk of certain chronic diseases, such as heart disease and some forms of cancer, according to a 2012 study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. And the best part is that there’s no need to break the bank to redeem the health benefits associated with tomato products. According to the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, sweet potatoes, white potatoes, tomato juices and tomato soups, carrots, and broccoli all scored the highest Nutrient Rich Foods (NRF) index per dollar. NRF is based on nine nutrients to encourage: protein; fiber; vitamins A, C, and E; calcium; iron; magnesium; and potassium; and on three nutrients to limit: saturated fat, added sugar, and sodium.

So, this 4th of July, invite over some friends and celebrate good health with this simple, nutritious red, white, and blue appetizer, made better by tomato products!

Red, White & Blue Salsa Cups

Ingredients:

  • 1 12-ounce can of salsa
  • 16 ounces of non-fat plain Greek yogurt (2, 8-ounce containers)or vegan sour cream (recipe here)
  • 1 package of blue corn tortilla chips
  • 16 plastic cups

Instructions:

  1. In each plastic cup, layer ~ ¼ cup of non-fat Greek yogurt, followed by 2 tablespoons salsa.
  2. Garnish with two tortilla chips.
  3. Store in the refrigerator until serving and serve with chips.

Makes around 6-8 individual dips.

 

Sharon Palmer

Sharon Palmer

Writer and Author of The Plant-Powered Diet

Sharon Palmer, The Plant-Powered Dietitian™ is a writer and author of The Plant-Powered Diet. Over 850 of her articles have been published in national publications, including PreventionBetter Homes and Gardens and Today’s Dietitian. She is also the editor of the award-winning publication Environmental Nutrition and writes for her blog, The Plant-Powered Blog. Her specific expertise is in plant-based nutrition, including Mediterranean, vegetarian and vegan diets.Her second book, Plant-Powered For Life: Eat Your Way to Lasting Health with 52 Simple Steps and 125 Delicious Recipesis available for purchase now.

Easy Baja Fish Tacos with Salsa

Easy Baja Fish Tacos with Salsa

Whip up these crispy baja fish tacos with tomato-cabbage slaw, avocado crema, and a healthy dose of salsa in no time! Ready in 30 minutes, this is the perfect light, delicious meal ideal for any night of the week. This dish couldn’t be easier and makes a great weeknight dinner that everyone is sure to love. You can feel good about feeding this meal to your family, as it’s full of lean protein from the fish, as well as fiber, vitamins, and minerals from canned tomatoes. These baja fish tacos are also budget-friendly, as canned tomatoes are a great affordable alternative to fresh tomatoes that still provide plenty of nutrients and pack in the same flavor punch. 

Easy Baja Fish Tacos with Salsa

This one-dish meal can also fit everyone’s food preferences, as you can build your taco just the way you like them. Want more slaw than crema? Easy! Interested in having less tortillas and more fish? Make this into a salad instead! You can also easily turn this recipe into a meal prep option; just make everything but the fish ahead of time, place into air-tight containers, and cook up the fish when you’re ready to eat. And, this recipe is the perfect highlight for your next party! Colorful, light, and delicious, it’s sure to please everyone at your table.

Ready for a flavor bomb? Learn how to make this recipe with our video here.

How do you enjoy your fish tacos? We would love to know! Tag us on Instagram so we can see your creations!

Yield: 6 servings

Easy Baja Fish Tacos with Salsa

Easy Baja Fish Tacos with Salsa

Whip up these crispy baja fish tacos with tomato-cabbage slaw, avocado crema, and a healthy dose of salsa in no time! Ready in 30 minutes, this is the perfect light, delicious meal ideal for any night of the week.

Ingredients

Crispy Fish:

  • 1/2 cup cornmeal
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 12 ounces tilapia or flounder fillets

Tomato Cabbage Slaw:

  • 1 cup red cabbage, shredded
  • 1/2 cup canned fire-roasted tomatoes, diced, drained
  • 1 lime, juiced
  • Salt and pepper, to taste

Avocado Crema:

  • 1/2 cup plain yogurt, Greek
  • 1 avocado, mashed
  • 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
  • 1 large garlic clove, minced
  • 1/2 lime, juiced

Tacos:

  • 6 6-inch corn tortillas
  • 3/4 cup prepared salsa

Instructions

    1. To prepare crispy fish: in a small, shallow bowl, mix together the cornmeal, salt, chili powder, and garlic powder. Place beaten eggs in a second small shallow bowl.
    2. Slice the fish fillets into 2-inch strips (6 total strips, 2 ounces each). Dip fish strips into the beaten egg and then coat well with cornmeal mixture.
      Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan or skillet over medium heat. Place coated fish fillet strips in the pan and cook until they are golden brown and flake easily with a fork (about 3 minutes on each side).
      While cooking fish, prepare tomato cabbage slaw and avocado crema (see below).
    3. To prepare tomato cabbage slaw: toss together shredded cabbage, roasted tomatoes, and lime juice in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
      To prepare avocado crema: blend yogurt, avocado, cilantro, garlic, and lime juice.
    4. To assemble tacos, briefly warm tortillas in a pan and then top each tortilla with: ¼ cup tomato-cabbage slaw, 1 fish strip, 2 tablespoons salsa, and 2 tablespoons avocado crema.

Notes

Recipe is written by Jaime Ruisi, a Portland Oregon-based nutritionist, where she advocates for a balanced lifestyle and body positivity.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

2 tacos

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 541Total Fat: 23gSaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 156mgSodium: 679mgCarbohydrates: 54gFiber: 11gSugar: 9gProtein: 35g

If you’re looking for other delicious recipes, check out some of our favorites:

Tomato Pesto Hummus
Swiss Chard Pecan Lasagna
Black Bean Corn Chili

Mango Salsa

Mango Salsa

Mango Salsa

Enjoy the balance of sweet and spicy flavors in this vibrant salsa that is so easy to make and great for an end of the summer celebration. Recipe courtesy of Del Monte – Mango Salsa.

Ingredients

1 can (15oz.) diced mango with light syrup

1 can (14.5oz.)petite cut diced tomatoes, well drained

¼ cup diced red onion

¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro or mint

½ jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped
or 2 Tbsp. canned diced jalapeno

2 Tbsps. fresh lime or lemon juice

Directions
Stir together all ingredients in a medium bowl. Serve as a dip with tortilla or pita chips or as a topping for quesadillas or grilled chicken, fish or pork.