Recipe: Chips and Guac for One

So I’m a corn chip fiend. I admit it. I love the taste, the texture, and most of all, that super satisfying crunch. Problem is, I’m also addicted to avocados, and while those are loaded with good fats the chips are most definitely not. Have you looked at the nutrition labels on those things? Tostitos blue corn chips have 6g fat and 140 calories per serving, ie. 6 whole chips. Who eats only 6 corn chips? It’s crazy, I tell you. So what’s a calorie conscious girl to do? Bake her own chips, that’s what, and make a small bowl of guacamole to go with it. It’s easy, delicious, and way better for you than grabbing a bag of chips off the shelf. Besides, what’s better than warm corn chips? Nothing.

The chips only really require two ingredients, corn tortillas and some salt to taste. I use La Banderita corn tortillas because they come in a huge stack and don’t cost much. A serving size is two tortillas; that’s double the number of chips per serving than those Tostitos and have 10 fewer calories, no fat, and an extra gram of protein to boot. An added bonus of making chips yourself is you get to set a limit on how many you eat. Make as many as you want, but when they’re gone, they’re gone. I’m usually too lazy to make more.

Here’s what to do. Preheat the oven to 350 and cut your tortillas into sixths. Arrange them on a baking pan and salt them. It’s ok if they overlap a bit, but you may want to bake them for slightly longer if you’re doing two layers of chips. Stick those puppies in the oven for 15-20 minutes until they’re crispy. They cool off fast so eat ‘em right away!

But wait! Chips are no good without something to scoop up. I prefer guacamole. Here’s my favorite single-person recipe, I make it while the chips are baking:

½ Avocado, smashed up in a bowl

2-4 cherry tomatoes chopped up

Red onion chopped, to taste

Salt, pepper, lemon juice, chopped cilantro, garlic salt, and cayenne pepper (or a diced jalapeno) to taste.

Mix up all the ingredients. That’s it. Fewer things are easier to make than guacamole. If you want to cheat, get some fresh salsa from the grocery store and substitute that for the hand-chopped veggies. Leave out any ingredients you hate, taste as you mix, and when it’s so amazing you could eat it plain, you’re done.

Enjoy!

Written by: Ned of Maneating Flower