Healthy Veggie Tacos

May seems to be a month filled with birthdays. I think I have about 5 or 6 kids in my class with birthdays this month. My dad’s birthday happened to be on Friday, and we celebrated it this past Saturday over the weekend with tacos. He has now entered the mid-fifties territory and struggles with a variety of health issues. One namely being diabetes, which meant that rice was most definitely out of the question for his birthday meal. Hence why we decided to go for tacos with my Spanish Rice (quinoa).

My family and I love taco nights, but ever since I became a vegetarian (about 3 years ago) taco nights dwindled. It was about time we rekindled our love for them. This time around we made the taco with a little bit of an Asian twist. As you can see, there’s Spanish Rice (quinoa), refried black beans, guacamole, and cooked veggies (inspired by the filling of an eggroll or spring roll). Thanks to my sister and Mark, we were able to hit as many food groups as possible.

Ingredients:

• Soft shelled tacos or hard shelled tacos
• Some Mexican cheese or cheddar cheese

Veggie Filling:

• 2 Tbsp olive or vegetable oil
•  2 cups shredded cabbage
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 1 cup white mushrooms/any other mushroom (diced)
• 1 cup sliced onion
• salt, pepper, and soy sauce to taste

Refried Beans:

• 1 15 ounce can of black beans
• 1/2 onion (diced)
• 1/4 tsp chili powder
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

Vegetables:

1. On a large pan cook the cabbage and onions until tender. Add the carrots and mushrooms. Cook until all vegetables are soft and cooked. Add salt, pepper, and a splash of soy sauce.

Refried beans:

1. Heat a pot with a tablespoon of oil. Cook onions until translucent, add the can of black beans with the liquid. Simmer until it’s thick and pasty. Add the chili powder or even canned chili peppers for taste. If you’d like you can add some salt or pepper.

Click here for the Spanish “rice” (quinoa) recipe

Last but not least, you heat up the tortillas individually on a small pan with some cheese sprinkled in the middle. Then you load your taco up with all these tasty and healthy ingredients.

That’s all there is to it! You’ll have a colorful taco that provides you with a variety of nutrients. Happy Monday!

FYI, this mix totally works in rice paper instead of tortillas as well. I tried it and it didn’t really taste different at all.