Although Mexican is not part of either of our heritage, the food that comes from this vibrant country consumes my family's dinner delights. As I have previously mentioned, my husband's eating habits rely on few to no carbohydrates the majority of the week and cooking can sometimes be a challenge when given this restriction. For those readers that are unaware, my husband does eat carbs; however, he goes through moments in life where we do nothing but eat high protein, high green meals and then one day a week, we indulge in pastries, pastas, and slightly more unhealthy foods.
Since our wedding over a year ago, we have not necessarily been doing so great at this so-called "dieting". Our dinners wouldn't necessarily be classified as unhealthy; however, they also have not followed the typical nutrition basics that my husband prefers. We have taken the past few years with our wins and losses and maintained weight -- we just feel "healthier" some weeks compared to others.
Last night sounded like just as good of night as any to jump start our healthy meals going into the chilly winter months... but with little planning, and even more little of time to prepare a meal, tacos are the perfect fit for our "no-carb" meal. Tacos are not traditionally seen as a meal that would fall into this plan; however, with very little alteration, they work lovely.
My grocery list for this meal includes:
- 1 lb. of ground beef (we use extra lean)
- two peppers (green, red, orange, or yellow)
- one yellow onion
- one taco seasoning packet
- 1/4 lb. of spinach
- one large tomato
Staples that you may already have in your kitchen:
- salsa to taste
- a bit of cheese (we use Kraft Mexican)
- peppercorn
- oregano
- garlic salt
- guacamole
First, I brown the meat. In between the two of us, we typically eat about one pound of hamburger meat, and this leaves enough for my husband's lunch the following day. While the meat is brown, I chop two peppers (any color you like) and one onion. I drain the meat, add the vegetables, 3/4 cup of water, and one packet of taco seasoning. On average, this amount of vegetables with the meat require a bit more seasoning that just the average taco packet (we use the Taco Bell brand). For additional flavoring, I add cracked black peppercorn, a hint of oregano, and some garlic salt. This simmers on the stove in a sautéing pan for about 10-13 minutes until the onions are baked down.
While the pot is simmering, my husband ensures that we have homemade guacamole, and I begin to plate our dishes. Each plate is lined with a bed of spinach, lightly chopped, a pinch of cheese, a chopped up tomato, and some salsa. Once our pot of food is completely cooked, we add the guacamole on top and that completes our dish!
The total cooking and preparation time takes maybe thirty minutes, and there is still leftovers for the next day for lunch. This recipe could also be acceptable for a family of four with small children or a family of three with a teenager. To grow the meal even larger, add a 1/2 of pound of meat, one more taco seasoning packet, and possibly another pepper if you choose. It is such an easy meal, for a really low cost, barely any time, and healthy too!
