Are Tomatillos Healthy? (3 Tips For Weight Loss)

If you’re a fan of Mexican cuisine, you might have heard of Tomatillos. If not this article is for you, as we discuss what Tomatillos are, in what dishes they are used, and if they are healthy.

Tomatillo is a Mexican husk tomato, which tastes between a tomato and a tart strawberry since it’s considered a fruit, not a vegetable. Tomatillo is a Mexican staple and is used in many different dishes, such as salsa verde. 

Although Tomatillos are delicious, is it actually healthy?

Yes, Tomatillos by themselves are actually healthy, since they are packed with vitamin C and vitamin K, naturally high in potassium, low in sodium, and low in calories. Eating Tomatillos can also help regulate blood pressure. 

Here are three steps that explain the calorie amount in a Tomatillo-based salsa verde, as well as the ingredients that go into making a Tomatillo salsa verde, and how to stay fit and healthy while eating this popular Mexican dish.

1. What Goes Into Tomatillo Salsa Verde? 

2. How Many Calories Are in One Serving Tomatillo Salsa Verde?

3. How to Lose Weight, or Maintain Weight, Eating Tomatillo Salsa Verde

Let’s check out the details about what Tomatillo salsa verde is and how many calories it contains depending on how it’s being prepared. 

Tip 1. What Goes Into Making Tomatillo Salsa Verde?

The classic way of making Tomatillo salsa verde is by frying Tomatillos in olive oil with cilantro, garlic, onion, salt, and jalapenos. They are then blended together until a smooth consistency is reached. Tomatillos in the form of salsa verde is a popular dish and served either with tortilla chips or with meat dishes, tacos, burritos, quesadillas. 

Tomatillo salsa verde is a simple, yet flavorful and satisfying dish.

The best part of Tomatillos, however, is the fact that this fruit is so versatile. To make salsa verde, the fruit is harvested early when it is still a bit tart. When the fruit is riper, the taste is a bit sweeter and oftentimes used as a tomato substitute. Tomatillos can be used in diverse dishes, such as soups, salads, stirfries, stews, baking, desserts, and even marmalade. Tomatillos can also be dried, to enhance the sweetness of the fruit, just like cranberries.

Since it’s a staple in Mexican cuisine, you can find it in many authentic Mexican restaurants all over Los Angeles. 

Now that we know what Tomatillos are, let’s take a look at the nutrition facts and see how many calories go inside a serving of traditional salsa verde made with Tomatillos. 

Tip 2. How Many Calories Are in One Serving of Tomatillos Salsa Verde?

What you always need to be aware of, when living a healthy and active lifestyle, is to understand how many calories you need to consume daily. 

If we take a look at the nutrition facts, you can see that one serving of Salsa Verde made with Tomatillos has 20 calories with only 3 grams of carbs, 0 grams of protein, and 0 grams of fat. 

This is not bad at all as a side dish, as it is low in carbs and has zero fat. 

The only downside with this dish is the lack of protein since it’s at zero. When you eat salsa verde made with Tomatillos, you want to make sure to eat it with a protein-rich dish, such as chicken.  

However, if you take a closer look, you can see that there is also 1 gram of fiber in a single serving of Tomatillos salsa verde, which is a type of carb you want to eat since it helps with dieting. 

If you burn more calories than you consume, then you will find yourself in a “caloric deficit” which is the only way fat loss can occur. 

Fiber allows you to feel full longer, which is key when you are in a caloric deficit. 

Staying healthy and fit is all about calorie or energy balance, which means that you can still eat your fats and stay in shape. 

You just have to understand how many calories you need to eat in a day and to make sure not to overeat on your total accounted calories for the day. 

The key to dieting is keeping a nice balance of macronutrients. A great ratio is sticking to 30% carbs, 40% protein, and 30% fats. 

Now that we know a little bit more about the nutrition facts of classic Tomatillo salsa verde, let’s take a look at how you can eat Tomatillos salsa verde and stay in shape and get nice and lean. 

Tip 3. How to Lose Weight, or Maintain Weight, Eating Tomatillos Salsa Verde

We have mentioned this in section two of the article but we’re going to stress again the importance of understanding how many calories you need to eat to stay in shape. 

Overeating on unhealthy, processed foods that are high in fats and carbs can happen easily and is usually the quickest way to get out of shape. 

Eating something like Tomatillos salsa verde, which is customizable and filled with whole fresh ingredients, is a great option if you are looking to shed some fat and feel great. 

Before we get into those tips, however, let’s go over how you can figure out your daily caloric needs and see how much of each macronutrient you should be consuming. 

Your daily calorie intake depends on a few factors, such as height and gender and if you want to gain weight, lose weight, or maintain it. 

Keep in mind that weight loss is really the concept of calories in vs. calories out.

So, how do you know how many calories you should be eating in a day? 

The answer is through trial and error and finding a calorie range that allows you to lose 1-2 pounds of fat per week. 

However, a good place to start is to multiply your body weight by 12 or to use an online TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) calculator. 

Be mindful that these methods will give you rather rough estimates that are not specific for your body type per se but you’ll see that they can get pretty close.

Once you get that number from either method, continue to stay with it for a week and see how it affects your body. 

For example, if either method tells you to consume 1600 calories a day, maintain that for a week and see what happens. 

If you don’t see any changes in your weight, decrease your calorie intake by 100 calories and see how that works. 

Most likely, you don't have to drop your calorie intake too low, as you’ll get a pretty low number to start with this dish.

So, how do you lose weight while eating Tomatillos salsa verde?

As you can see, one serving of Tomatillos salsa verde has 20 calories with 3 grams of carbs, 0 grams of protein, and grams of 0 fat. You can just add this into your day and subtract this from your total daily calorie intake, since it’s only a side dish, you’ll get most of the calories, and macronutrients from the meat, rice, or tortillas you’ll eat with Tomatillo salsa verde.  

You don’t want all of your calories simply coming from carbs or fats, you want there to be a balance coming from carbs, protein, and fats as mentioned in section two of this article. 

This is where those macronutrients come in, which you’ll get with the main dish you choose with your Tomatillo salsa verde. 

So, just do the calculation of whatever calorie range that you find, and split up your calories by following those macro guidelines. 

After you’ve figured out how many calories you need to consume daily, you need to make sure that you are exercising regularly and are building muscle throughout every week.

Building muscles, allow us to burn calories at rest, which means we can eat more and still lose fat.

This is really the goal of working out and is what keeps us healthy as our metabolisms increase.

For a workout, you can start with LISS (Low-Intensity Steady State) cardio.

LISS is cardio that comes from walking or a brisk walk, you should be able to have a conversation while still building up a sweat.

We recommend working out at least three times per week in the beginning, since the resting days in between are important to build muscle. 

THERE IT IS! 

Our three tips and facts will help you eat Tomatillos by themselves or in the form of salsa verde paired with a balanced meal, and still stay fit.

Tomatillo salsa verde is a healthy dish, combined with a protein- and carb-rich meal. 

In general, Tomatillo salsa verde is a great example of a dish that features whole foods and offers not only delicious flavors but great nutrition, especially paired with the main dish. 

Just keep in mind to have a balanced diet and to eat whole, fresh ingredients and save the bad stuff for your cheats days, or social events with friends. 

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