Healthy Taco Salad

I've been consuming way too much bready and carby things lately, so I'm sticking to mostly meat and veg for the next couple of weeks. I find that I feel lighter and just better overall when I eat little or no bread, but I'm realistic. Bread is and will always be an integral part of my life, but I can cut back here and there.

The key is finding non-carby foods that elicit the same mouthwatering cravings that bready food does. One of my favorites is my low-carb (as in bread, not vegetables) Taco Salad. It's simple to make and absolutely delicious and it's a healthy meal I can get excited about. Saying no to bread is easy when you know this is waiting for you at home! Recipe after the pic :).

The sun setting on my delicious taco salad

Healthy Taco Salad

1 lb. ground lean turkey

1 red bell pepper

1 medium yellow onion

1.5 packets of taco seasoning

2/3 cup water

1 15oz. can of pinto beans

Salad greens (I prefer romaine as it stands up nicely to the hot meat/bean mixture)

1 avocado

Low-fat jalapeno cheese, or jalapeno flavored Veggie Slices

2 cups grape tomatoes

Cook turkey, onion and bell peppers in a large saute pan until the meat is mostly cooked and onions are translucent. Add in the 1 and 1/2 packets of taco seasoning, plus 2/3 cups of water and 1 can of pinto beans. Stir to incorporate all the seasoning, and let simmer, uncovered for 15 minutes.

For family style: Make the salad with greens, sliced avocado, cheese and tomatoes and put onto a platter. Top with the hot taco mixture. There's no need for dressing as the spices and juices from the taco mixture will dress the salad quite nicely. Serve immediately.

For single style: Make the salad with greens, sliced avocado, cheese and tomatoes and put into a large Ziploc bag. Put the taco mixture into a Tupperware. Create individual taco salads using a portion of the greens, and a portion of the taco mixture (heat taco mixture first). This recipe makes enough for me to make 4 meal-sized salads for the week.

Eating Out(side): Downtown Farmer's Market

Every Wednesday, the farmers leave their green pastures, clean air and pure running springs to come to the concrete jungle that is downtown Los Angeles. They bring with them an abundance of plump fruit, vitamin-rich vegetables, fresh cheeses and flavorful tacos al pastor. Huh?

OK, so maybe not all of the vendors at the Wednesday farmer's market in downtown LA come from far-off greener pastures, but the produce and food they provide are very fresh and lovely. Some coworkers and I decided to venture out of our 7th floor offices and check out the white tents of the 5th Street farmer's market. We were pleasantly surprised to find one can buy a good portion of groceries there plus a tasty and relatively inexpensive lunch.

Baguettes - my complete and total weakness

Unfortunately I did my grocery shopping over the weekend, so all I needed was lunch. But coworker Bri purchased a good variety of fruits and veggies so at least one of us got to support the farmers today. And I think Joe bought some apples and bananas, so I guess that makes two of us. Oh...actually, Alex bought some mini pecan pies and cinnamon-roasted pecans (the guy likes pecans), so that just leaves me as the lone, non-shopper. Sorry, farmers. But I did take pictures!

This beats Ralph's any day!You can even get cheese from Laurent Bonjour!

After my farmer-supporting coworkers were done making me look bad, we headed toward the prepared food stands to grab some lunch grub. Talk about a tough decision...just the various smells alone were enough to cause utter confusion over what to get. After perusing stand after stand and tasting many samples, we all settled on different things.

Alex went for the ethnically-confused Mexican Thai stand offerings. Mexican Thai? Those Thais will pair up with just about anything! There is a Thai Italian place near me in Pasadena, and Bri said she's seen lots of Thai Chinese places. What's next? Thai Sushi? Greek Thai? Thai Starbucks? Anyway, Alex's meal consisted of a Mexican Thai BBQ chicken with seasoned rice and lettuce. He gave his lunch a big thumbs-up.

Alex's ethnically-confused lunch

Bri decided to get a bag of pita bread and a container of hummus for her lunch. But not just any hummus, oh no. She got herself a tub of pesto hummus, and happily dipped her freshly-baked pita into her Italian-inspired hummus. Wait...can we call this Greek Italian?

Bri's ethnically-confused lunch

Being a hapa (half-Japanese, half-white), I don't need any more ethnical confusion in my life, so I opted for the straight-up street tacos from the Mexican stand.

Cooking up corn tortillas at the Mexi stand

I got one chicken, one pork and one beef taco and sprinkled a good amount of onion/cilantro mix on each one. They came with a side of rice and beans. Sadly, these tacos were just OK. I honestly couldn't tell the difference between the chicken, pork or beef in flavor or texture, and the rice and beans were decent but somewhat bland. Guess it serves me right for not being more adventurous!

Trio of tacos

Joe, who is a very picky eater and hardly ever ventures outside his comfort zone, decided to...stick within his comfort zone and get his usual hot dog. Before our offices moved to downtown, his favorite dog was at the stand in the parking lot of the Home Depot in Burbank. BUT, this wasn't just any ol' hot dog: It was wrapped in bacon (gasps and applause fills the air)! Much to our dismay, he decided against the pile of grilled onions they offered with the dog (did I say he's a picky eater?). However, Joe liked it...in fact, he used the word "awesome" to describe the hot dog. Take that, Home Depot parking lot hot dog stand! With his bag of salt & pepper Kettle chips and a paper cone of candied pecans, he was a happy luncher.

Joe's bacon wrapped hot dog

All in all it was a very good way to spend our lunch hour, and everyone is grateful that we have this resource so close to the office. I think next week I might try something from the Japanese stand (they have croquette, my favorite!) or the Peruvian stand. Now if they only had a Japanese Peruvian stand...

Flowers on the way out

LA Farmer's Market

Wednesdays

Located at 5th and Flower streets in downtown LA in front of the library