Healthified Taco Salad

Hola mi amigos!

Thank God it’s el Friday-o, no?*
*Be jealous…my Spanish skills are muy impressive-o! 

And since my bilingual talents pretty much stop there, I’ll do my best to keep the rest of this post in English! 😉

Remember the taco salad I posted for WIAW?

Yeah, that one?

Well, I polished off the last of the leftovers yesterday and I have to admit, today’s lunch just wasn’t as exciting…

That may or may not have to do with the fact that I had yet ANOTHER battle with Willie the Waffle Maker. Only this time, the chopsticks were no help and I had to resort to a bowl of cereal instead…delicious, but SO not the waffle I was dreaming of!

But anywho! No more wallowing in waffle pity…

Let’s talk tacos!

I LOVE Mexican food, and one of my favorite dishes is taco salad. But, as most of you know, chain restaurants tend to go with cheap ingredients, so when you order a taco salad, you usually end up with ground meat stuffed in a fried taco bowl topped with cheese, iceberg lettuce and (if your lucky) a few tomato slices.

So basically you have a bowl of greasy salty fat with lettuce that tastes like water…
Umm, no thank you!

But not if you make it home!

By choosing a lean beef (or turkey), you can cut the saturated fat in HALF, and with the right amount of add-ins and spices, you won’t even miss the cheese! Then you get the fun of “decorating” your salad with healthy and delicious toppings!

Now isn’t that just a work of art? 🙂

Healthified Taco Salad

By: Heather @ Kiss My Broccoli

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 25-30 minutes

Keywords: saute entree paleo high protein low-carb ground beef Mexican

Ingredients (Serves 4)

  • 1 pound lean ground beef (or turkey)
  • 1 cup diced yellow onion
  • 1 cup diced bell pepper
  • 1/2 cup shredded carrots
  • 1 8oz can no-salt added tomato sauce
  • 1 cup enchilada sauce*
  • 1 tablespoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic
  • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
  • Mrs. Dash salt-free seasoning to taste (optional)

Instructions

1. Heat a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat.
2. Add ground beef and, using a wooden spoon or spatula, break up and stir the meat while cooking until no pink remains (about 10 minutes).
3. Drain all but about a tablespoon of grease from skillet and transfer browned meat to a plate or dish.
4. Add veggies to skillet and saute until tender (about 7-8 minutes).
5. Transfer beef (or turkey) back to the pan, add tomato sauce, enchilada sauce, and spices.
6. Reduce heat to simmer, cover and allow to cook 10 minutes.
7. Serve over lettuce and/or crumbled tortilla chips (or even better, Popchips!) and add desired toppings.

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Nutritionals of meat only before salad toppings:

Under 500mg of sodium per serving? I’d like to see a Mexican restaurant do THAT!

Just be sure to find a good enchilada sauce that’s not too high in sodium. And something you may not know…usually, the spicier it is, the higher the salt content. Trader Joe’s has a great enchilada sauce without the sketchy ingredients…but if your lucky you have a Big Lots near and you can snatch yourself up one of these:

It comes in a bottle…but not with a straw…I’m perplexed!

But if it’s still not spicy enough for you, add some cayenne, a bit of hot sauce, or some of this:

Mrs. Dash really should pay me for all the advertising I do for them! 😉

So who’s making tacos this weekend?

Or more importantly, what time should I show up? 😉

What is your favorite Mexican dish?

What would you top your taco salad with?

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29 Responses to Healthified Taco Salad

  1. Morgs @ Crazy4Oats says:

    Mis* Amigos haha. No worries, I’m currently not doing so hot in my Spanish class!
    Anyways, that taco salad looks fantastic! I might be biased though, I LOVE Mexican food. It’s a good thing I live so close to the border!

    • kissmybroccoli says:

      Haha! Well, excuse ME! MIS amigos!! Maybe I should have paid more attention in high school! Lol 😉

      Oh what I wouldn’t give for AUTHENTIC Mexican food! I went to Texas a couple of years ago and I have to say it was a MILLION times better than the stuff they have here!

  2. Simone says:

    I love mexican food, my go to are chicken enchiladas… I like them light on the cheese heavy on the guacamole 🙂 in all honesty slap some avocado on anything and i’m there

    • kissmybroccoli says:

      I’m totally with ya there! Avocado makes everything better…sweet…savory…I don’t discriminate in the LEAST! Have you ever tried avocado pudding?

      • Simone says:

        No never, what do you mix with it to make pudding? Sounds right up my alley!

        • kissmybroccoli says:

          Just blend up avocado with some cocoa powder, a touch of sweetener (maple syrup, honey, stevia), and a little almond milk! Easy peasy and SO decadent! And it doesn’t take but like a tablespoon or so of almond milk…just start small and add enough to get the right consistency! 😀

  3. Taco salads = amazing!

    I’d have so much trouble picking my favourite Mexican dish…fish tacos? seafood enchilidas? Chicken fajitas? All of the above. 🙂

    I definitely need a massive pile of guacamole and salsa on my taco salads. And a smidge of sour cream is good too!

  4. Now see, I was already planning a healthified nacho recipe but I just want to make this. now.

    • kissmybroccoli says:

      Oops? Well see, now all you gotta do is add some melty cheese overtop!

      What do you call cheese that isn’t yours?

      Nacho cheese! 😀 LOLOLOL!

  5. I love the PopChips idea! #brilliant 🙂

    • kissmybroccoli says:

      Girl, I am Popchips OBSESSED! Have you tried their new tortillas? I swear the ranch ones taste just like Cool Ranch Doritos! #yum

  6. purelylori says:

    favorite is the classic guacamole, your taco salad sound delicious

  7. Outta my head, Powers!!!

    I’ve ALMOST stopped for a salad bowl at a certain mexi-can’t establishment a million times these past couple of weeks. A logical person – like yourself- would just make their own at home. Doh. Make this. Manana (insert wavy thingy over the second n).

    • kissmybroccoli says:

      You mean this ~ ? Hahaha! What IS that thing anyway? I’ve always called it a “swoosh” but technically, I guess Nike’s already got a hand on that one! 😉

      Girl, with your mad cooking skills, don’t even think TWICE about that restaurant! Oh, and while you’re at it, poach me some eggs!

  8. Jessie says:

    I just had a taco salad the other day but made with chicken. It was delicious!! Instead of adding taco sauce, I added some pineapple salsa. AMAZING!!

    • kissmybroccoli says:

      Oh yum! Great combo! I don’t know why, but every time I make tacos at home, I always go with ground beef or turkey…when I think chicken, I think fajitas! Need to change that…especially since I have like 5 jars of pineapple peach salsa that would go GREAT with it! Thanks for the idea missy! 🙂

  9. I’d sauté some onions and peppers and add some rice and beans and be good to go. I love the black olives (huge olive fan) and the cilantro leaves; so much flavor and so pretty in the photos.

    • kissmybroccoli says:

      Right? Can’t believe I used to hate cilantro! I wouldn’t even touch salsa at a restaurant if it had any in it…I know, I must’ve hit my head or something! At least I finally wised up! And yes, LOVE black olives, and kalamatas too…but never really been a fan of the green ones!

  10. Yum! Now I’m craving mexican food. I love almost any mexican dish. My favs are probably veggie fajitas and veggie taco salads. Toppings? A lot of pico de gallo, cilantro, corn salsa and avocado.

    • kissmybroccoli says:

      Mmmm, pico de gallo…how could I forget! And I just had some veggie fajitas not long ago made with portobellos! Yum! 🙂

  11. Your salad looks TEN times better than those restaurant salads that come in deep fried bowls, haha.

    I hope you’re having a great weekend, Heather!

  12. mmmm… yum! I love me some mexican. my favorite right now is enchiladas!!

  13. I am also a Mexican (or Latin rather) food fanatic! I can’t ever get enough! Thanks for the idea about the Mrs. Dash…and the enchilada sauce at Trader Joe’s (seriously somehow missed that!). And for reals girl…your food photos make me want to eat the computer screen! 🙂

  14. Well now I’m craving taco salad and I’m at work. 🙂 I love these types of salads because you can pile them high with veggies and still feeling like you are indulging. For veggies, this would be awesome with lentils or soy crumbles!

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