Tacos Anyone?

 Home Made Taco Seasoning

Don't buy the pre-packaged taco seasoning. If you make your own at home you know exactly what you are putting in your recipe. A single recipe of this taco seasoning mix works exactly the same as the pre-packaged stuff. Brown one pound of meat and add this mixture along with 1 cup of water and cook the water off to get great taco meat. Works with ground chicken, turkey or beef.

1 tbsp. chili powder

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 tsp. onion powder

1/4 tsp. cayenne

1/4 tsp. oregano

1/2 tsp. paprika

2 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. salt

I found a recipe today for taco chili that I think I will try. I will let you know how it turns out. I have adjusted it to suit my taste but the original recipe was listed in the recipes section of the Whole Foods Market website.

Taco Chili

1 pound of lean ground turkey or chicken
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tablespoons taco seasoning

2 cups low-sodium organic chicken broth
1 large zucchini or summer squash, cut into small cubes
1 (15-ounce) can organic black beans

1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes

1 cup frozen corn kernels or 1 can corn kernels

1 cup medium salsa 

Brown meat and set aside. Saute onion and garlic until translucent. Add meat back into pot and sprinkle with taco seasoning. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 20 minutes.

Update:
We tried this recipe last night and it was great. The only change I made was substituting canned stewed tomatoes instead of the diced tomatoes. The kids thought it was a bit spicy so I'll probably put less cayenne in the taco seasoning next time. I simmered it until most of the chicken stock had cooked off and then it had wonderful flavour.

Go To Lunch Recipes

Here are a couple of my go-to lunch recipes for when we want to eat healthy. My husband could eat these everyday without complaint. We originally got this bean salad recipe from Dr. Ardis Krueger, a naturopathic doctor.


Bean Salad

1 can organic black beans or kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can corn
1 cucumber diced, peeled if not organic
1 red or yellow pepper, diced
1/4 of small red onion
1 tomato, diced
1 tbsp. parsley, chopped

Dressing
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1 garlic clove, minced

Vegetable Soup

Excellent if made ahead and frozen in single serving portions. We like to freeze it in mason jars, makes it easy to reheat in a glass dish and avoid plastic in the microwave. Recipe easily doubles, you just need a nice big stock pot. This recipe is adapted from an Everyday Food recipe.

2 tbsp. olive oil
2 cups chopped onion
1 cup diced celery
2 tsp. italian seasoning
course salt and ground pepper, to taste
3 cans (14.5 oz each) organic chicken broth
1 can diced tomatoes, with juice (28 oz)
1 tbsp. tomato paste
4-6 cups of mixed vegetables (frozen corn, diced carrots, frozen peas, diced zucchini, potatoes, green beans, quantity depends on how thick you like your soup)
1/2 cup small noodles, optional

1. Heat oil in a large stock pot, add onion, celery and italian seasoning. Cook until translucent.
2. Add broth, tomatoes and their juice, tomato paste and 3 cups of water (for richer flavour broth may be substituted - use 2 litres of broth total instead of broth/water mix). Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes, uncovered.
3. Add vegetables to the pot and return to a simmer. Cook until vegetables are tender, 20 to 25 minutes. If adding noodles, add just before final 20 minute simmer. Season with salt and pepper, as desired. Cool before storing.