Pace Nacho Cheese Taco Shells

 If you’re a fan of tacos and even possibly Doritos, then you may have at one point or another ventured over to Taco Bell and tried a Doritos Locos Taco. Since I saw Taco Bell offering these tacos I have been anxiously waiting to see the taco shells sold in a grocery store. Thankfully, that day had come when I picked up a box of Pace Nacho Cheese Taco Shells at Wal-Mart.

I want to start off by saying these are not an exact “dupe” of the Taco Bell Doritos shells … but they’re as close as you’re going to get.  The shells are not as firm/hard as traditional taco shells; they’re on the softer side of crunchy. As the box describes, they’re nacho cheese flavored and they’re perfect stuffed with taco meat, lettuce, tomatoes, guacamole and sour cream … or whatever may tickle your fancy. I found they added great flavor to my meal and I enjoyed them even the next day crumbled over a taco salad.

Pace also sells an original and kickin’ jalapeno flavor. So far, I’ve only noticed them at Super Wal-Mart locations. Price wise, if I recall correctly, they were under $1.50

A 2 shell serving is 130 calories or 3 points plus values.

Taco Tuesday on a whole new level

Tuesdays are known as “taco Tuesdays” on social media. What does that mean? Well, for starters it means having tacos, in any shape or form, on a Tuesday. I admit I don’t always follow the taco Tuesday form; I merely have tacos whenever I crave them whether it’s a Tuesday, a Thursday or a Saturday.  On this particular day I decided to transform taco junk (see recipe here) into a delicious salad.

What’s pictured is ¾ cup of taco junk, 4 tablespoons of Trader Joe’s Reduced Guilt Chunky Guacamole (see review here and 2 tablespoons of Chi-Chi’s medium chunky salsa, alongside a big salad topped with 1 tablespoon Panera fat free poppyseed dressing.

This whole bowl was only 6 points plus and was ultimately delicious.

Taco Salad

I find myself on “Taco Tuesday’s” reaching for my salad bowl instead of the taco shells. If I’m in the mood for the crunch, I will incorporate something crunchy (a broken up taco shell or tortilla chips) into my salad. This way I’m one in the crowd and I don’t feel I’m missing out on anything.  Other times I simply skip the tortillas and make a “normal” taco salad.

This is one of those bang for your buck type of meals. It’s filled with greens, lean meat and flavorful components (taco seasoning and salsa). For those folks on Weight Watchers you can see there are many power foods in this dish. It’s satisfying, it’s filling and it’s incredibly low in points.

Pictured, I have tossed salad (romaine, baby tomatoes, cucumber and red onion), 3 oz of lean ground beef cooked with taco seasoning, 1 tbsp Trader Joe’s Queso Dip, 1 oz of Trader Joe’s Organic Tortilla Chips, Chi-Chi’s medium salsa and a few jalapenos to balance it all out.  All of this for 6 points plus values!