When making salads at home, make sure your lettuce is well dried. Here, also be sure the salsa or pico de gallo is completely drained of extra moisture by quickly throwing it in a fine sieve and then gently pressing it with a spoon. Eliminating moisture from the ingredients ensures the finished salad isn’t watery. Well-dried ingredients yield a restaurant-quality (or better!) salad. To make this dish even more special, add low-fat cheese or fresh cilantro.

　　

Ingredients

makes 1 salad (3 1/2 cups)

　　4 ounces 96% lean ground beef

　　1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt-free Mexican seasoning or rub (I used Southwest Chipotle Mrs. Dash)

　　Salt, to taste, optional

　　3 cups finely chopped arugula or romaine, or a combination

　　2/3 cup well-drained fresh pico de gallo or salsa

　　1/2 ounce baked tortilla chips, crushed with your hands

　　2 tablespoons low-fat Mexican ranch or ranch dressing (I used Follow Your Heart’s Spicy Southwest Ranch)

　　

Step 1

Preheat a small nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add the beef, seasoning or rub, and salt. Cook the beef, breaking it into large chunks with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, 2 to 4 minutes. Let the beef cool at least 1 minute before adding it to the salad.

　　

Step 2

Meanwhile, place the greens, pico de gallo, and chips in a large glass or plastic mixing bowl. Drizzle the dressing over the top, add the beef, and toss well. Serve immediately.

　　

nutrition information

Step 3

Calories: 257

　　

Step 4

Protein: 26g

　　

Step 5

Carbohydrates: 24g

　　

Step 6

Fat: 8g

　　

Step 7

Saturated Fat: 2g

　　

Step 8

Cholesterol: 60mg

　　

Step 9

Fiber: 2g

　　

Step 10

Sodium: 396mg

　　Reprinted with permission from I Can't Believe It's Not Fattening! by Devin Alexander. Copyright © 2010 Devin Alexander. Published by Clarkson Potter Publishers, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.Devin Alexander is the author of The Most Decadent Diet Ever, Fast Food Fix, and coauthor of The New York Times bestsellers The Biggest Loser Cookbook and The Biggest Loser Family Cookbook. She was a chef on NBC's The Biggest Loser and the host of Healthy Decadence on Discover Health and FitTV.