Healthy Chicken Burritos

I love burritos more than life.  Unfortunately, a burrito from a restaurant is about 900 calories (that's without cheese) and that pretty much means i have to eat celery and lettuce leaves for the rest of the day.  Not fun. 

That's why I decided to invent my own chicken burrito that has about 280 calories per serving.  It doesn't replace my occasional need for a burrito at qdoba or chipotle, but this is more of an every day burrito that won't undo your gym time.  Most importantly, it'll satisfy the burrito craving for the most part :)

Now, the great thing about this recipe is that you can make all the ingredients beforehand, and then anytime during the week if you want a burrito, you can have one in about 5 minutes flat.  Grad students of the world, rejoice!

Ingredients (this is for about 6-7 burritos):
-3/4 lb chicken, cubed
-1 tsp taco seasoning
-1 tsp garlic powder
-1 tbsp water
-1 tbsp vegetable oil

-2 avocados, sliced
-1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
-6-7 low carb tortillas
-salsa, optional

1.  First, you have to chop up the chicken.  I like using chicken tenders because they're already in strips, so all you need to do is slice them down the strip. 

Okay, then in a small container, add chicken and taco seasoning.  This is the kind I used.

Add water, garlic powder, and oil, and toss with spoon until well mixed. 

Leave in fridge for 1 hour minimum (overnight is best).

2.  Now it's time to pan fry chicken in a skillet.  Make sure to spray your skillet well.  A little tip for sauteing meat: don't stir it around as soon as you add the meat to the pan.  Or else you'll end up tearing the poor chicken pieces. 

Cook over high heat, occasionally adding a tbsp of water or so to get the steam going, then remove from heat when inside of the biggest chicken cube is white and cooked through.

3.  Prepare your avocados by halving them, removing the pit, then scooping the soft inside out of the skin.  Slice into thin slices.

Also, here's a possible tip for storing avocado.  I have heard that storing avocado with the pit itself makes it last longer.  I have not done any studies to prove this.  I just do it whether it helps or not.  Haha.

4.  Now it's bean-time. 

Prepare your beans by rinsing them with cold water.  The bean juice is evil and full of sodium.  Wash it away!

Okay, now you have all the ingredients you need to make burritos anytime, any day. 

Oh, and this is the kind of tortilla i used.

5.  To make a burrito, place a tortilla on a grill (george foreman works best)

And fill half with chicken...

Beans...

And avocado!

Fold the other half over and press.  If you're just using a normal grill pan, you'll wanna flip it over carefully to get the other side warm.

6.  Remove from grill and serve with salsa right on top.  Delicious!

Okay, so my folding in half didn't quite work out.  All those years of origami and i can't fold a tortilla in half.  But no matter.  These are delicious!!  Sensational!!  It will make your senses sing! 

The best part about it is that it's low in fat, low in calories (the tortillas are only 70 cals each), and quite healthy for you.  The protein and fiber categories are well covered here, so you'll stay energized and full for longer. 

But seriously, i don't care how healthy it is, it's just so darn delicious!

Also, for a little extra flavor, you can sprinkle a little extra taco seasoning when you're putting the burrito together.

And now, for the rest of the week, you have these ingredients all ready to go, and you can make a meal in 5 minutes.  FIVE MINUTES.  From this....

To this!

You'll thank me later.

For a printable version of this recipe, please click here.