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Spinach & Mushroom Quesadilla
Low Calorie Recipe

Article Written By Sky Taylor, Diet Bites

Using Super Foods in Recipes for Healthy Benefits

This original recipe is ULTRA easy and was something that I created when I had a few items in the kitchen that were close to expiring, specifically the central ingredients used - the spinach and mushrooms.  

It is really frustrating when foods start to spoil and in this day and poor economy, we really can't afford to allow anything to go to waste.

At times it is very challenging because we live quite a ways from town and purchasing fresh vegetables must be done on our weekly trip to the market; if we lived closer we could drop in and replenish every other day or so.

In addition, there are only two to cook for and that can be rather challenging.

So spoilage is something I certainly didn't want to happen - and it's quite cruel to watch a perfectly good bag of spinach go to wilt. The baby variety at that.

We gave this recipe a good name, calling it 'Happy Quesadillas' because we were so happy when we were eating these because they were SO GOOD! It also felt good to be enjoying something so tasty that was low in calories and dietary fat grams.

The Recipe Ingredients

1/2 small package of button mushrooms (or sliced mushrooms)
1/2 bag of fresh spinach, regular or baby variety
1/4 cup of diced onion
4 slices of bacon, microwaved (100 calories)
6 flour tortilla shells; 480 calories - we used the 80-calorie per tortilla shells from our local market
non-stick cooking spray
salt & pepper
your favorite salsa; we LOVE Sam's Club Peach & Pineapple Chipolte, which can be purchased at Wal-Mart. It has some very delicious sweet notes and is on the mild side of life.

You can also use your favorite shredded or sliced cheese in this recipe - a reduced fat mozzarella works well.

How to Prepare This Spinach & Mushroom Quesadilla Recipe

Begin by spraying flour tortilla shells with cooking spray, then 'frying' them in a non-stick pan. Do both sides of the shells; try to get them to a golden stage in color.

You can also sprinkle them with table salt if desired as it will add flavor to the shell. If you prefer a soft shell, you can certainly opt to warm them in the microwave using the moist paper towel method.

Next, add mushrooms and onion to pan and allow to cook; if they start to stick then add more cooking spray.

When the onions are translucent (clear transparent look), add the spinach. Be sure to remove the larger stems from the leaves before using and wash all of the vegetables used in this recipe before cooking; also allow them to dry before use.

When the green spinach leaves start to wilt then it is time to crumble the crisp bacon into the pan.

Add a bit of cracked pepper to suit your personal taste, but go very light on the salt because the bacon will add a good deal of salty taste to the dish. In addition, if you chose to salt the shells then you don't want to add too much of this element to the dish.

Remove from the heat source, and then equally divide the mixture onto three of the six flour tortilla shells. Top with the other three tortillas and cut into wedges.

Or, if you prefer you can place the mixture onto one edge of each tortilla as you would when preparing burritos. Roll up and serve with salsa on the side - and you can also add the salsa to the filling ingredients before rolling if you wish.

Enjoy 3 of the roll-up versions for about 115 calories each plus salsa kcals.

In Summary, Making the Wraps Vegetarian Friendly

This diet recipe would also be so easy to prepare on camping trips as well as on the outdoor grill. You can add other meat proteins to the wrap if you wish to create more delicious flavor combinations.

If you are vegetarian, simply omit the bacon from the recipe and add your favorite cooked legume along with reduced fat shredded cheese if you wish.

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