Healthy Bites: Talkin' Tacos

I wanted a cookie. Or a cupcake.

Healthy ones, of course.

But after a stop at a cupcake shop (where I bought a red velvet cupcake ... and boxed it up for my mother) and a local bakery (where my request for a "light" cookie was met with a simple "no"), I found myself at instead.

The butter cookie I got from the bakery was so sickeningly sweet, I needed/wanted something salty to counter it.

Rubio's offers HealthMex burritos and tacos, which are lighter versions of its traditional items. I opted for one HealthMex Grilled Chicken Taco in a corn tortilla (130 calories), and one HealthMex Grilled Mahi Mahi Taco in a corn tortilla (150 calories). You can select a flour tortilla, but it will add another 50 calories to the tacos. No thanks.

Let's start with the chicken taco. Good news first, right?

I really liked the chicken taco. It was spicy, the salsa was fresh and the chicken was tender. The chicken comes with roasted chipotle salsa, salsa fresca and lettuce. Mmm. The salsa and juices were a bit runny, so don't try and eat this in the car or while you're wearing your favorite outfit. But do eat this. Yum.

Now for the bad news: the mahi mahi taco was not very good. This may sound strange, but the taco tasted watery to me. Kind of empty and bland. You could tell there was some spice in there, trying to shine through, but it never quite made it. Like the chicken taco, it came with roasted chipotle salsa and salsa fresca, but swapped cabbage for the lettuce. There was so much cabbage, in fact, I took half of it off before eating.

I must say that I'm not a big fan of big Mexican food chains like Taco Bell, etc. I much prefer hole-in-the-wall taco shops. But Rubio's has found a spot in my heart.

Grab the HealthMex Grilled Chicken Taco and pass on the mahi mahi.

Chicken rating: 4 out of 5. Price: $2.79.

Mahi Mahi: 1 out of 5. Price: $3.29.

Calories

*Source: Rubio's Fresh Mexican Grill Nutrtional Guide