Good ‘n healthy Festive Tortilla Bites

Our good 'n healthy Tortilla Bites make a great appetizer any time of year, but are especially festive for the holidays. While many hors d' oeuvres can quickly add calories and fat, tipping the scale in the wrong direction, our Tortilla Bites are low in calories (just 86 for every 4 bites) and high in flavor.

The tanginess and thickness of nonfat Greek yogurt is a perfect alternative for the cream cheese, mayonnaise and sour cream used in many salads, dips and baked goods.

And one cup of nonfat Greek yogurt provides 25 percent of the daily requirement for calcium and 46 percent of the daily value for protein. Plus it has zero grams of fat, only 10 mg of cholesterol, and 9 grams of carbohydrates.

Add in the red peppers, an excellence source of vitamins A, C, and B6, along with some spices, scallions and green chilies; wrap it up in a spinach tortilla, rich in fiber, calcium and iron, and enjoy a little splurge this holiday season...or any season.

INGREDIENTS

• 6, 10-inch spinach tortillas
• 1, 8 ounce package ⅓ less fat cream cheese, softened at room temperature
• 1 cup nonfat Greek strained yogurt
• 1 package dry ranch dressing mix (2-3 Tablespoons)
• ½ large red bell pepper, finely chopped
• 2 large scallions, finely chopped
• 1, 4-ounce can of green chilies
• Salsa on the side to serve, optional

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a medium bowl, mix together the cream cheese, yogurt, dry ranch dressing, red bell pepper, scallions and green chilies.
2. Heat large skillet to medium high heat and heat each tortilla 15 to 20 seconds on each side, using tongs to turn tortilla over. Heating the tortillas makes them more pliable and easier to roll.
3. For each tortilla, measure ¼ cup of cream cheese-yogurt mixture and spread over one side of a tortilla. Roll the tortilla up like a jelly roll and wrap in wax paper. Repeat with the remaining 5 tortillas.
4. Refrigerate for at least an hour to several hours.
5. When ready to serve, use a serrated knife and, using a gentle back and forth motion, carefully cut each tortilla into ½ inch slices, cleaning the knife frequently.
6. You may want to trim off about 1 inch on each end of the tortilla so slices are even.
7. Each tortilla roll should yield about 16 slices. Serve with salsa on the side.

Makes 24 servings of 4 slices.

Nutritional Information
Per 4 slices: 86 calories; 3.3g total fat (1.6g saturated, 0.0g polyunsaturated, 0.0g monounsaturated); 274.5mg sodium; 6.7mg cholesterol; 9.3g carbohydrate; 0.4g fiber; 0.8g sugars; 3.2g protein; 13.2mg potassium.