EARTH TACOS... are for skeptical people!

January 1st, 2012 was approaching quickly and for the first time in my life I wanted to make a serious New Year's resolution. “Let's commit to detoxing for one week after the holidays!” - “Let's eat ONLY veggies for 2 weeks!” … I remember sharing both of these “not really resolutions” with Nathan as I cautiously tip-toed around the BIG idea that was tugging at my brain, heart, and stomach. We settled on “3 vegan meals every week for one year.” Growing up Catholic, I was used to fasting on certain days of the week/year. This was going to be a piece of egg-less cake!

We LOVE LOVE LOVE tacos. Beef, pork, chicken... if it fits in a shell and can be topped with guacamole we will eat it! I figured this would be a safe enough place to start. I came out of the womb a strong-willed, skeptical baby girl, and after 25 years I am now just a well-seasoned, strong-willed, skeptical woman! Let me paint the picture for you...

1 pot of lovely long grain, brown rice

1 pot of organic lentils

1 pot of white corn

1 large skillet of HAMBURGER MEAT

… I was convinced the “EARTH” tacos would fail and I was ready with some taco MEAT when that happened!

Yea, it was love at first bite. The cooked taco meat went straight back into the freezer and I eventually had to throw it out because it got frost-bite sitting in the freezer for so long. We fell hard for the vegan/whole foods lifestyle and have not turned back.

This recipe is tried and true. We love it. Our kids love it. The earth loves it. Non-vegan company loves it. I think this is a good place to start if you're wanting to flirt with an animal-free lifestyle.

No cholesterol
Fat free
(unless you make guacamole –
which I think you should!
But then you are dealing with
GOOD fat that God put there for you!)
Protein
Vitamins
Fiber
YUM

Here's how you do it...

Your “meat”:

Long grain brown rice

Lentils

White sweet corn / chopped red pepper
**cook/prepare these separately then mix together with these seasonings...

Cumin

Chili powder

Garlic powder

Onion powder

Paprika

Sea Salt
**just do what tastes right for YOU and your family! Add a little – then add more if needed.

Toppings:

homemade guacamole (I usually prepare 1 avocado per person)
2 ripe avocados – spooned out of shell (SAVE SEEDS!)
1 tsp. minced jalapeño
¼ C. finely chopped onion
sea salt and garlic to taste
**mix together and throw in the seeds! A good friend, from Mexico!, taught us that the seeds help preserve that “green” color we are so drawn to with fresh guacamole! It works!

shredded romaine or kale (we LOVE kale on our tacos!)

fresh salsa

cilantro

lime wedges

Stuff all of the above into a healthy tortilla! Think: all-natural, organic, unbleached, wheat, corn, etc. We love El Milagro's all-natural corn tortillas. Very authentic. Viva la Mexico!

Needless to say, the “3 vegan meals a week” - has turned into more of a lifestyle for our family. My brain, heart, and stomach are pretty happy about that!