Healthy Tamales

I love tamales. I don't get to eat them often but I do love them. I have been wanting to make tamales for years now but just never seemed to come around to it. This is the first time we will be hosting my family for Christmas so I decided I wanted to make tamales for our Christmas Eve dinner. I also wanted to make them healthier so I opted to use light olive oil instead of lard and chose lighter fillings. Since they are for Christmas Eve I wanted them to be festive. I made 2 flavors - (green) roasted verde chicken and (red) vegan red adobo bean and "cheese". I could not be any happier with how they turned out. I even made sure to make more the next day following my directions to make sure I had it down. I randomly decided to add another flavor ((green + red) vegan spinach, sun-dried tomato and "cheese", not added in recipes). They are perfect! My favorite are the bean ones but the chicken ones are a close second.

​My mom also sent me some spicy red sauce and green sauce from New Mexico that we will drizzle over the tamales when we eat them. I plan to serve them with a Mexican Charcuterie tray (tortilla chips, red and green bell peppers, and a few different dips). Don't be too intimidated to make these! Change up the fillings if you want something different but just make sure they aren't too wet. These tamales are moist and light, you definitely won't be missing the lard. 

Watch the videos and look at the pictures at the bottom to see how the dough should look, how to assemble and what the tamales will look like when you are done! Get ready for the best tamales ever!!!

Total Time: 3 hours (1 hour to cook the chicken and make the bean fillings, 40 minutes to make the dough and assemble the tamales, 1 hr 20 minutes to steam)
Serves: 16
 
Tamales (Dough)
​
Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups masa harina
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 3/4 cup light olive oil
• 2 1/2 cups low/no sodium vegetable broth (heated up - use a little more or a little less depending on your dough )
• 2-3 cups filling
• 16 corn husks + more for lining the pot

 
Directions

1. Place the corn husks in a huge pot full of hot water. Place another pan on top of them to keep them submerged. This allows the husks to soften. After 30 minutes, remove them from the water and gently dry with a towel.
2. In a large bowl mix the masa harina, baking powder, salt, cumin, onion powder and garlic powder and then stir in the olive oil.
3. Slowly start adding in the broth a little at a time while mixing with a rubber spatula. Keep adding the broth until it takes on the texture of soft ice cream. You might need a little more, you might need a little less. Just keep mixing until you end up with a product similar to the video below! 
4. Lay out the husk with the smaller end pointed away from you. Add 2-3 Tbsp of the dough into the front larger portion of the husk and spread into a circle, making sure to not spread the dough too thin.
5. Add 1-2 Tbsp of your filling down the center line of the dough.
6. Fold one side of the husk over the middle, making sure the dough drops off the husk a bit and covers the filling. Then take the other side and fold it over the center. Then finish wrapping them completely with the husk and fold the skinnier end part up toward the center to finish (see video).
7. I cut a small "V" in the top of the vegan tamales and kept the chicken ones normal. If you have another kind you are making and need to tell the difference after getting them out of the steamer, you can also take one of the husks and pull strings off of it and use it to tie a bow around the tamales.
8. Once you finish making all of the tamales, get your steamer ready by adding some water to the bottom of your pot. 
9. Line the steamer rack with the corn husks and then place the tamales inside standing with the open side up. Finish laying the corn husks across the top and then cover them with a small towel and then the lid.
10. Bring the water to a boil and then lower to a simmer. Place the steamer in the pot and steam for about 1 hour 20 minutes. It could be a little shorter or a little longer depending on how big you made the tamales and how many are in the pot. To test if they are done take one out and let it rest for two minutes. If the corn husk is easily removed from the tamale and it isn't gummy, then it is ready! They will keep firming up a bit after cooking.
11. ​Take the tamales out and let them cool on a wire rack or a pan. Eat them hot and fresh with your favorite toppings or freeze them for later.
12. It is easy to make these ahead of time and store them wrapped in tinfoil in the freezer. Then, when you are ready to eat them, all you have to do is unwrap them and place them back in the steamer for 45 minutes (depending on how many you have in the basket) or until they are hot all the way through.
13. *Use your own or pre-made fillings to make these unique to your taste or to cut down on time.
    

Roasted Verde Chicken

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup low/no sodium vegetable broth
• 1 chicken breast (1/2 lb)
• dash of salt and pepper
• 1/4 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 Tbsp white vinegar
• 1/2 cup roasted verde salsa

 
Directions

1. Place the broth, chicken, salt, pepper, olive oil and vinegar in a crock pot and cook on high until chicken reaches 165 F, about 1-2 hours. This is highly variable depending on the size and type of crock pot you have. If you decide to double or quadruple the recipe, the time will need to be longer, just make sure each chicken breast reaches 165 F. 
2. Once the chicken is done cooking, shred it using two forks and then mix it with the salsa. Store in the fridge until you are ready to assemble the tamales.

Vegan Red Adobo Beans and "Cheese"

Ingredients

• 15 oz pinto beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 tsp chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (just the sauce)
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1 cup of cheese (I used Parmela Creamery Mozzarella Style Nut Cheese)

 
Directions

1. In a small pot over medium heat add the beans, sauce, chili powder, garlic powder and onion powder.
2. Mix everything together well and cook for about 5 minutes or until it starts to look a little dry and the beans are semi-smashed.
3. Store in the fridge until you are ready to assemble the tamales.

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Tamale time! I’m making Christmas Eve tamales - half are roasted verde chicken and the other half are vegan red adobo bean and “cheese”. So excited! If they turn out - recipes coming soon! #livinglifebalanced #healthcoach #tamales #christmas #christmastamales #oliveoil #notlard

A post shared by Elena McCown • Health Coach (@elenamccown) on Nov 16, 2019 at 3:53pm PST

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WE HAVE A WINNER!!! #livinglifebalanced #healthcoach #tamales #glutenfree #dairyfree #oliveoil #notlard #delicious #sogood #newrecipe

A post shared by Elena McCown • Health Coach (@elenamccown) on Nov 16, 2019 at 6:11pm PST