Healthier Chicken Flautas Recipe for an anti-inflammatory diet

Below: One of my favorite anti-inflammatory meals is this delicious and healthy chicken flautas recipe. It is easy to make and tastes great too!

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It is time for another homemade, healthy, easy and practical recipe to help you take care of your health! If you have lupus like me, or another auto-immune disease, it is important to have a variety of recipes to choose from.

Just because we are changing our diet, doesn’t mean we have to forget about all of our favorite foods! Instead, we should learn how to make them more healthy – not only for ourselves, but for our families too!

Sometimes, we are so used to the flavors that we have been consuming for years, that just thinking about making them a different way is enough to get us not to do it, even if we know the change will benefit our health.

I like to compare this to being in a “toxic relationship with an ex.” We know that it is going to hurt us, make us sick, and one day even kill us, but but leaving it behind is difficult because we feel dependent, in our comfort zone, and familiar because it is what we are used to. Let me tell you something though. Just like your “ex,” the food that you love, made the way that you have always made it, doesn’t love you back!

I know that may sound harsh, but we each have to learn to leave behind that harmful dependency and to love ourselves more. Nourish your body with food that is good for you and that will treat you right, and you will see a difference in your health!

What are Chicken Flautas?

Speaking of food, this easy chicken flautas recipe is delicious! They consist of a tasty chicken filling, wrapped in tortillas, lightly fried with a little bit of avocado oil, and then topped with fresh shredded lettuce, fresh cilantro, pico de gallo, lime juice, and feta cheese. You can also serve it with fresh salsa and you can be sure that everyone will enjoy it!

I like to make them not only for myself, but also for my kids and my husband. It is definitely one of their favorite Mexican recipes, and I can make it often and none of us get bored!

As you can see with this recipe, healthy, anti-inflammatory food can be full of flvaor and colors, but even more importantly, nutrition!

How to make flautas for an anti-inflammatory diet?

Traditional Mexican flautas are made with queso fresco, corn tortillas, and Mexican crema. However, those ingredients are not great if you suffer from a disease like lupus since they can cause inflammation. For this recipe, I replace the queso fresco with feta cheese, and I omit the crema.

Feta cheese is one of the only dairy products that I currently eat. It is made from sheep’s milk, and is known for being a great source of vitamins and minerals. It has high levels of phosphoros, iron, magenesium, selenium, zinc, and potassium. It also is rich in vitamin A and B6. Finally, feta cheese has probiotics, which help your digestive system and can strengthen your immune system.

Some people also add cream cheese to the chicken mixture, but that would be more dairy which is not a friend of many people with lupus. Instead of that, I mix the chicken with a little bit of avocado oil-based mayonnaise and it tastes great!

Another way to modify this recipe is to bake the flautas instead of frying them. In my case, I do fry them in a little bit of oil, but I do not use vegetable oil. Instead, I use avocado oil which is one of the best oils you can use. You can also use coconut oil as another option. However you make them, I’m sure you will love this great recipe!

Finally, instead of corn tortillas, I found some great grain free tortillas which are better for my health, and I can’t even tell the difference! Even though this recipe changes some of the ingredients that I am used to from growing up in Mexico, it is definitely one of my favorite ways to make it now!

What is the process for making chicken flautas?

The cooking process for making flautas is very easy! First, you will want to gather the following ingredients:

• chicken breasts, cooked and shredded (you can use leftover chicken or rotisserie chicken too if you have that on hand)
• grain free tortillas
• onions
• avocado oil based mayonnaise
• romaine lettuce (or iceberg lettuce)
• fresh cilantro
• feta cheese or another type of low fat cheese
• pico de gallo (recipe here)
• Salsa roja (recipe here)
• Avocado or coconut oil
• salt, pepper, and cumin

To make your own flautas, start by heating a tablespoon of avocado or coconut oil over medium-high heat, and sautee the chicken with the onion for about 5 minutes. Add the salt pepper, and cumin to taste, and a little bit of chopped cilantro, and let cook for another 3 minutes or so.

Combine the above mixture with the mayonnaise, and set aside.

To put the flautas together, warm up the tortillas and fill each with the chicken mixture before rolling them up and sticking a toothpick through them to keep them from unrolling.

Add the rest of the oil and lower to medium heat. Cook each flauta in the hot oil for a couple of minutes, or until golden brown. Use tongs to remove from the skillet, putting them in a large bowl or a paper towel-lined plate. You can then pat away any excess oil before putting them on a plate and covering them generously with lettuce, pico de gallo, feta cheese, and salsa.

This recipe is one of my family’s favorite main dishes, but it can also be served as an appetizer.

Let me know in the comments how you liked these and if you would change anything to make them even more healthy!