My Lazy Quinoa & Black Bean Tacos
I wanted tacos but have no meat in the house. (I’ve restricted my meat eating to once or twice a month when I go out to eat.) So I experimented a little tonight. The only thing I would change next time is maybe to throw some lime juice in with the quinoa while it cooked. These are super filling and you can use the leftovers for taco salad! Anyway…. onto the recipe.
1/2 cup Quinoa (yields aprox 1.5 cups cooked)
1 cup water
1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)
1 can no salt added kernel corn (drained and rinsed)
8 taco shells (I prefer La Tiara since they’re low carb, only 40 cals each, and taste a lot like fresh made restaurant style shells.)
1 tsp taco seasoning (this homemade recipe is delicious!)
3 TBSP salsa (My favorite is Muir Glen garlic cilantro salsa)
3 TBSP sour cream if desired
Serves: 2 - (4 tacos each)
Directions:
- Drain and rinse corn and black beans. Toss together in a bowl and cover in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Soak quinoa in a bowl of cool water for couple minutes. Strain and rinse.
- Preheat oven for taco shells - 200 degrees.
- Combine the rinsed quinoa and 1 cup of water into a med size saucepan. (Optional: squeeze in lime juice from 1/2 a lime.)
- Bring to a rolling boil and cook for 5 minutes.
- Remove quinoa from the heat and cover with a lid for 15 minutes.
- Put taco shells in the oven per the packages instructions. (usually about 10 minutes)
- After the 15 minutes are up, remove the lid from the saucepan and fluff the quinoa with a fork.
- Sprinkle 1 tsp of taco seasoning (more or less for your preference) over the quinoa and mix in.
- Scoop bean/corn mix into taco shells, top with quinoa, salsa and any other preferred toppings.
Nutrition Info:
4 shells = 160 cals
1/2 C (cooked) quinoa = 127
1/2 C bean/corn mix = aprox 90 cals
2 tbsp salsa = 20 cals
2 TBSP sour cream = 60 cals
Approximate total calories per serving = 457 (Or aprox 115 cals per taco)
Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with a Taco!
It’s impossible not to love this place, you’ll just feel like you’re having dinner in Mexico!
This is a vegetarian taco with guajillo-dusted potatoes tangled with sautéed poblano pepper, brightened by both red and green salsa.
Happy Cinco de Mayo people!
Meatless Monday: Meet Taco Tuesday
Tempeh (pronounced Temp-pay) leads the way in these, perfect for meatless on Monday, tacos.
Just what is tempeh, you say? Why it’s cultured soy protein, made by fermenting whole soybeans and then forming them into a cake-like product. Tempeh is a great source of protein for a vegetarian diet, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), the quality of soy protein is equal to that of protein from meat and milk proteins. In addition, a great majority of the fat in tempeh is polyunsaturated, which may be shown to lower risk of cancer and heart disease.
If that doesn’t impress you, the iron in soy foods may be better absorbed from fermented soy products like tempeh or miso- important for vegetarians to obtain!
Meatless Tacos:
Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive or peanut oil
1 small sweet onion, vidalia or white, diced
1 8-oz tempeh, 3 grain flavor or plan, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup pineapple juice
1 Tbsp lime juice
1 package whole wheat t
ortillas
2 tsp ground ginger
2 1/2 tsp ginger
salt and pepper
1 red bell pepper, diced
veggie cheese, optional
Putting it all together:
Heat oil in nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, and cook 3 to 5 minutes, or until onion is softened. Stir in tempeh, pineapple juice, curry powder, and ginger. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook 5 minutes, or until pineapple juice evaporates and tempeh starts to brown, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, stir in lime juice and season with salt and pepper.Take the tortillas and fold them into a slightly greased muffin pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 5-7 minutes. Fill tortilla cups with tempeh mixture. Add red bell pepper and veggie cheese, if desired.
