Make Taco Tuesdays Healthy! with The Happy Diabetic

Who doesn’t love Taco Tuesdays?

All of sudden the day after Monday, Tuesday, doesn’t seem so bad.  I think ‘tacos’ might be to blame for why Tuesdays have become a highpoint in our culinary week. This popular culinary trend, Taco Tuesdays,  took off in Southern California and quickly spread to many big cities across the nation.Taco Tuesday is similar to Happy Hour in that restaurants vary in their participation, hours, and specials offered.

Taco Tuesdays can be part of a healthy diet plan, if done right.

I asked my friend,  Chef Robert Lewis aka ‘The Happy Diabetic’ to share a few of his favorite healthy fish taco recipes on this blog.  It’s all part of the preparations for our biggest podcast event of the year, Mister Divabetic Mystery podcast: ‘Gypsies, Tramps & Peas’ on Tuesday, September 12, 2017, 6 PM, EST.

The wonderful Chef Robert Lewis aka ‘The Happy Diabetic’ plays the character on ‘Gypsies, Tramps & Peas’.

Since this year’s zany adventure takes place in New York City’s historic seashore, Coney Island we’re spotlighting seafood dishes. 

Don’t let diabetes dim your DAZZLE! Get in the spirt and enjoy the first of several fish taco recipes,Hoisin Shrimp Tacos, from The Happy Diabetic.   It’s sure to win over your family and friends at your next party!

FW0608WKS06

Hoisin Shrimp Tacos by the Happy Diabetic

What’s in it?

5 tsp. Hoisin Sauce

1 tbsp. soy sauce

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb. shrimp, tails removed, peeled and deveined

1/2 tsp. olive oil

2 limes

kosher salt

2 c. shredded white cabbage

1/4 c. fresh chopped cilantro

WHAT’S THAT?: Hoisin sauce is a thick, pungent sauce commonly used in Chinese cuisine as a glaze for meat, an addition to stir fries, or as dipping sauce. It is darkly colored in appearance and sweet and salty in taste. Peking-style hoisin sauce ingredients include starches such as sweet potato, wheat or rice, and water, sugar, soybeans, sesame seeds, white distilled vinegar, salt, garlic, red chili peppers, and sometimes preservatives or coloring agents. Traditionally, hoisin sauce is made using toasted mashed soy beans.

Let’s put it together!

  1. In a large mixing bowl stir together 3 teaspoons Hoisin, soy sauce, and garlic; add shrimp and mix until well coated. Set aside to marinate.
  2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine 2 tsp hoisin, and zest and juice of one lime, mix together with cabbage and cilantro; set aside.
  3. In a large skillet over medium-high heat or cook on the grill, heat the oil. Drain shrimp and pat dry; discard marinade. Sear shrimp until slightly caramelized, then flip. Cook until shrimp are firm, about 3 minutes and remove from the heat.
  4. Wrap the tortillas in foil and bake for about 8 minutes, until they are softened and heated through.
  5. Assemble tacos with a handful of cabbage slaw and a few pieces of shrimp. Cut  garnish with the remaining lime cut into wedges and serve immediately.

Skip The Chips: According to United States Department of Agriculture reported that tortilla chips are high in calories per gram and are filled with saturated fats and high levels of sodium. Get more Healthy Taco Tuesday tips from Pritikin to help you host a nutritious and delicious Taco Tuesday right at home: READ MORE

In a recent profile on the Everyday Diabetes website, Chef Robert Lewis admitted that he feared the worst for his own love of great food following his diagnosis with Type 2 Diabetes in 1998.

“I suspected that my days of good eating were over,” Lewis writes on his blog. “Yet, as I worked through my ups and downs, I came to realize that the selection of foods I could and should eat was vast and included many of my favorites. This motivated me to attempt to create delicious, diabetic-friendly dishes that were also easy to prepare.

Today he’s a man on the go! is a man on the go. When he’s not working as a director of training for 60 restaurants in the Midwest, he’s  traveling around the country as a keynote speaker for Taking Control of Your Diabetes and/or hosting his own podcast, ‘The Happy Diabetic Kitchen Podcast’! Read more about Chef Robert Lewis aka ‘The Happy Diabetic’ in Diabetes Health Monitor magazine.

Join us for the broadcast of our newest Mister Divabetic Mister entitled Gypsies, Tramps and Peas’.

Diabetes advocate turned reluctant amateur sleuth, Mr. Divabetic finally takes the plunge and ventures into a new career as a healthy caterer. With the help of his co-workers and nosy Italian mother, he heads for Coney Island to cater his first party aboard a yacht for his former swim coach, Ted Rockow. But his nautical soiree quickly capsizes when the guest of honor is found swimming with the fishes. What it an accident or foul play? Now Mr. Divabetic’s grilling Burlesque dancers, a lifeguard lothario and some sequined mermaids, all intent on keeping their secrets buried deep within the sand. Can Mr. Divabetic prove Coach’s death was a murder, not an accident? Or will he end up floating out to sea?

Will he sink or swim? Tune in to find out if he can solve the murder of his former swim coach with the help of his friends, some sassy mermaids and a cooky fortune teller. Along the way to revealing the identity of the murderer he uncovers expert tips for diabetes self-care during the Summer months.

USA Today Best-Selling Author, Tonya Kappes, Asha Brown, Catherine Schuller, Chef Robert Lewis aka ‘The Happy Diabetic’, Seveda Williams, Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDE, MaryAnn Horst Nicolay, Mama Rose Marie and Poet Lorraine Brooks help the fruit suit clad sleuth in this seaside adventure. Healthy delicious recipes provided by Chef Robert Lewis and Stacey Harris aka ‘The Diabetic Pastry Chef’.

This year’s mystery podcast features music from the original cast recording of ‘Gypsy’ courtesy of SONY Music.

Join the show! Get the full script for ‘Gypsies, Tramps & Peas’ and read along as our cast performs. Please e-mail: mrdvabetic@gmail.com