Fresh Taco Salad

In Arizona, taco salads usually consist of greasy ground meat (or chicken), hardly any vegetables, which are then placed in a large fried dough bowl. Not very appetizing in my book, nor nutritious.

My partner and I each have activities to do on Tuesday nights. He goes off to fence, and I go off to cake decorating. I have to leave by 5.30 and he doesn't have to leave till 6.30. So, when we come home on Tuesday nights, we usually do something quick, fresh, delicious, and healthy.

We came up with our own version of taco salad that was healthy and nutritious. We add things here and there to make it more interesting, especially since I get burnt out on food easily.

It starts out with cooking some vegetarian and organic black beans in the cast iron. No water, just hot oil and beans. We like this way better than boiling because you can still taste the beans and they are not water logged.

We try to eat all colours of the rainbow. Well, we try to eat this way for at least ONE meal. Sometimes it's a little hard in the morning and in the afternoon.  Things are a little rushed in the morning, so it makes it hard to make a balanced meal. When we do eat all colours of the rainbow in the morning, it's usually when we juice. So, we cut up a bunch of fresh fruits and vegetables. Tomatoes and sweet peppers, bell peppers, jalapeno, green onion, and red onion. It's really quite pretty when it's all sliced and waiting for me.

Then, instead of the fried bowl of dough, we eat some delicious, organic, non-GMO chips. The Red Hot Blues are by far my favourite chips, and they add extra salt and some spice to the beans. It's all about moderation, and sometimes it is EXTREMELY hard to stop eating these chips. But, it's all about control.

The end result is this beautiful, delicious meal. It really is the colour of the rainbow, and it makes me so happy. It makes my stomach happy! I have been dealing with some stomach issues, so I am really trying to limit what I am eating to figure out what's going on. 

I was diagnosed with Irritable Bowl Syndrome (IBS) this January, so I am working really hard to make it a little less of a pain in my ass. It is already pretty easy since I eat pretty healthy, but I am keeping more track of exactly what can trigger it. I need to start a food journal to really narrow it down more, but I haven't found a journal yet. Lame excuse, I know, but sometimes I just can't imagine writing down EVERYTHING. Just seems tiring. :)

Fresh Taco Salad

Serves 2

2 15 oz. cans of black beaks

Half a bell-pepper (your choice, but I recommend orange)

6 cherry tomatoes

Two slices of red onion

Half a jalapeno

Slices from a bunch of green onion

3-4 small sweet peppers 

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

1 tsp. cumin

Corn chips of your choice

Heat cast iron skillet (or a skillet you have) with some olive oil. While the pan is heating up, drain and rise the black beans until there are no more bubbles coming from the beans. Once the oil is hot enough, place the beans in the pan, covered, and start to cook. 

Meanwhile, start washing all your produce and slice things up until they are the size you want.

Place all the spices with the beans and stir until all incorporated. I usually cook the beans for about 20 minutes, or until all the beans are soft. When beans are crunchy, it tends to be an instant gas initiator. 

Once the beans are all cooked, place them in a plate/bowl, and load up the vegetables and fruit. I tend to mix it all together with a fork so that it's a nice mixture. Grab some chips, and start scooping up the food. 

*All food--whether processed or from the ground is 100% organic and non-GMO, unless mentioned otherwise. Which will most likely be never. There are some extremely helpful articles as to why you should eat organic, as well as cut as many processed foods as humanly possible. :)