I’m learning that eating with my health in mind does not mean every meal has to look like grilled chicken and a sad little salad.
Sometimes I want a burrito.
I had pulled pork on hand and decided to turn it into a loaded burrito using some of the foods I’ve been intentionally incorporating more often—beans, whole grains, vegetables and healthy fats.
The result?
This was actually really good.
And I think the fresh lime juice at the end pulled everything together.
The Recipe
Makes: 1 large burrito
These measurements are approximately what I used. I’m very much a “measure with your heart” cook most of the time, but I wanted to give enough measurements that someone else could actually recreate it.
Ingredients
- 1 low-carb/high-fiber burrito-size tortilla
- 3 oz cooked pulled pork, shredded
- ¼ cup black beans, drained and rinsed
- ⅓ cup cooked brown rice
- ½ cup shredded purple cabbage
- ¼ cup diced tomato
- ¼ medium avocado, diced
- 1 tablespoon creamy chipotle sauce
- 1–2 teaspoons lime juice, or a good squeeze of fresh lime
How I Made It
Warm the tortilla if you prefer it softer, then layer on the pulled pork, black beans and brown rice.
Pile on the shredded purple cabbage, tomato and avocado.
Drizzle about a tablespoon of creamy chipotle sauce over everything and finish it with a squeeze of lime juice.
Then comes the difficult part:
Attempt to close the burrito after putting entirely too many delicious things inside it.
Why I Chose These Ingredients
Part of my health journey has been learning that I don’t necessarily need to eliminate foods or entire food groups. Instead, I’ve been paying more attention to what I’m adding to my meals.
The pulled pork gives me protein and makes the burrito filling, but I didn’t make the entire burrito meat.
I added black beans, which provide fiber and plant protein. Beans are one of the fiber-rich foods the CDC specifically recommends as part of an eating pattern that can help manage LDL cholesterol.
Then I added brown rice. I could have skipped the rice because I was already using a low-carb tortilla, but I’m not trying to eliminate carbohydrates. I’d rather choose a whole grain, keep the portion reasonable and pair it with protein, fat and fiber.
The purple cabbage and tomato add vegetables, volume and—maybe most importantly for this burrito—CRUNCH.
Then there’s the avocado.
Avocado adds fiber along with mostly unsaturated fat, making it a really nice addition when I’m thinking about the types of fats I’m eating.
And finally…
The creamy chipotle sauce.
Could I leave it off?
Yes.
Do I want to? Absolutely not.
I used about a tablespoon. It was enough to give the entire burrito a creamy, smoky, slightly spicy flavor without completely drowning everything underneath it.
And that squeeze of lime juice at the end added the acidity and freshness it needed.
Eating for My LDL Without Eating “Diet Food”
This is probably my favorite thing about this meal.
It doesn’t feel like diet food.
I’m working on being more intentional about my LDL, and that doesn’t mean one individual food has to be labeled “good” or “bad.” The overall pattern matters.
Foods naturally high in fiber, including beans, and foods containing unsaturated fats, such as avocado, are among the foods the CDC recommends for helping prevent and manage elevated LDL.
So instead of saying:
I can’t have pulled pork because I’m watching my cholesterol.
I’m learning to ask:
What can I put WITH the pulled pork to build a more balanced meal?
Today, that answer was black beans, brown rice, cabbage, tomatoes, avocado and lime.
That’s a way of eating I can actually see myself continuing.
One More Meal for the Repeat List
I’m not interested in eating perfectly.
I’m interested in finding little changes I can continue making without feeling like I’m constantly on a diet.
This burrito gave me protein, fiber, vegetables, whole-grain carbohydrates and healthy fats—plus enough creamy chipotle sauce to make me genuinely excited to eat it.
That’s a win in my book.
And yes…
I’m absolutely making this one again.