Taco Tuesday to the rescue
Life as an entrepreneur tends to get pretty busy.
And while we intend to always do our due diligence when it comes to meal planning, sometimes the weekend goes and the week comes without a solid game plan for food.
And no meal plan is always a recipe for trouble.
Case in point, a busy Tuesday might leave you wondering what to do for dinner at 7 p.m. And if you're early birds like we are, that means two hours to plan the meal, prepare it, eat it and digest before bedtime.
Enter, “Easy Wins.”
Having a stock of fix-ins for easy meals or something that is a regular staple on a certain day of the week can make life a whole lot simpler, healthier and cost effective because it keeps you from going out.
For us, one of those easy go to’s is tacos- stacked with veggies. We usually eat the same two types: Beet Tacos and Refried Bean Tacos.
I love beets but never would have thought of putting them in a taco until we went to happy hour one evening at Por Que No Taqueria in Portland. It’s a cute little place with brightly colored walls and a good variety of veggie options for plant food lovers. The special that day was beet tacos. Yes, please and thank you. They were incredible.
Although our replication of the beet taco isn't exactly the same - I have no clue what they put in their spice-infused delicious crunch fest - but our tacos are pretty good too, and simple.
Beet Tacos:
Ingredients:
Beets (roasted and skins peeled (done ahead of time, we like to do ours on a weekend morning to get ready for the week...) or if you're really pressed for time pick up a beet salad or pre-roasted beets from you local grocery store)
1 TB olive oil
Feta
Mint
Lemon or orange
Salt & pepper
Corn tortillas
Cut the stems off the beets. SAVE the greens (you’ll need them later). Wrap the beets individually in aluminum foil and place on a cookie sheet. Roast until a knife glides through your beet easily, will be based on size of beet. The bigger your beet, the longer you roast. But most likely somewhere between 35 -50 minutes at 350*. When the beets are done, run under cold water and remove the skins. Dice beets and place in a bowl. Coat with olive oil, mint, juice of fresh lemon/orange and serve on a corn tortilla (warmed up in the oven or on the iron skillet), topped with feta. What's leftover is a great addition for your salad tomorrow night. Suddenly your weekly meal plan is taking shape.
Now the beans. We keep retried beans in stock in our pantry. Be picky when deciding what you are going to be fueling your body with. We strive to buy things with 5 or fewer ingredients, and the beans we buy (Natural Directions) have three ingredients, other than water - WATER, ORGANIC PINTO BEANS, ORGANIC CANOLA OIL, SEA SALT.
Refried Bean Tacos
1 can refried beans (see above)
Beet greens or lettuce
Bell pepper
Onion
Lime
White cheese (we use gouda or white cheddar)
Tortillas
Remember those beet greens. For this taco we simply warm up the beans, sauté the beet greens in the iron skillet and top with white cheese - or skip the cheese if you had a day light on exercise or if you have a dairy intolerance. Warm up the tortilla (any kind will do- we like the Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Grain Tortillas which have sprouted grains and lentils) in the iron skillet or the oven. You also top with sautéed or raw peppers, onions and any other veggies you might desire.
This is also good with fresh lettuce if your beets don’t come with greens.