Taco Salad With Cilantro Dressing

Published on August 24, 2020

This recipe is a paleo and lectin free version of Gaby’s Taco Salad With Cilantro Vinaigrette. A keto diet is great for keeping your weight down and your gut happy. And I happen to be extremely sensitive to mustard seeds and have just made a habit of keeping the amount of other higher lectin foods low in my diet.

Gaby’s recipe has cherry tomatoes, fresh corn, black beans, and red pepper flakes. Cherry tomatoes have skins and seeds that have lectin. Corn is a grain. Black beans have lectins. Red pepper flakes are the seeds and skins of a chili pepper where most of the lectins are. Taco seasoning has chili pepper in it which is the flesh of a chili pepper (minus the seeds and skin).

I’ve added sliced red cabbage for color and nutrition. If you are not avoiding grains and lectins, please click on the link above to get the amounts of the cherry tomatoes, fresh corn, black beans, and red pepper flakes, to add all these to your salad and dressing.

I’ve included cold white rice which is a resistant starch that your stomach doesn’t completely digest. It is passed down into your colon where it ferments and becomes food for your gut bacteria. As long as you don’t eat too much of resistant starches (1/4 cup is good) they won’t spike your blood sugar and you won’t gain weight.

“…Resistant starches, on the other hand, pass through your digestive system without being broken down; hence, they don’t raise your blood sugar and insulin. Instead, resistant starches end up fermenting and feeding beneficial bacteria in your gut.

“Byproducts of this fermentation process in your gut are short-chain fatty acids that help reduce inflammation, improve immune function, normalize blood pressure and lower your risk of heart disease and heart attack.

“Short-chain fatty acids produced through fiber fermentation also serve as substrates for your liver to produce ketones that efficiently fuel your mitochondria and act as powerful metabolic signals, and science suggests resistant starch may play a role in the prevention of colon cancer and inflammatory bowel disease.”
Dr. Mercola

Taco Salad With Cilantro Dressing

Taco Salad With Cilantro Dressing

Salad

Ingredients

Instructions

Arrange the salad ingredients on a plate, sprinkling the cheese over the top. Add the warm taco meat mixture and drizzle with the cilantro dressing.

preparing taco salad

Taco Meat

Ingredients

Instructions

Add half the oil to a heated skillet and add the meat, breaking it up into small pieces and sprinkle with the salt. Remove from the meat and add the remaining oil, the onion and garlic and cook these 5 minutes. Stir in the seasoning for 30 seconds. Add the cooked turkey meat, water, and tomato paste and simmer until the water is gone about 10 to 15 minutes.

This meat mixture can be frozen in individual packages to use later.

Cilantro Dressing

Ingredients

Instructions

Combine all ingredients and mix well. This dressing can be frozen in small packages to make individual servings at a later time.

ingredients for Spanish rice

Spanish (Mexican) Rice

Ingredients

Instructions

Thinly slice the white and light green part only of the green onions and put with the chopped jalapeño and garlic. Thinly slice the darker green onion tops and set them in a dish in the refrigerator. Melt butter in a saucepan with a tightly fitting lid. Add the green onion whites, jalapeño and garlic. Sauté for 3 minutes. Add the cumin, paprika and salt and sauté 15 seconds. Add the chicken broth and tomato paste. Stir until blended. Add the rice. Bring to boil, reduce heat, cover and cook according to the rice package directions (usually about 12 to 15 minutes). Do not disturb lid. Remove from heat, keeping tightly covered and lest rest for 10 minutes. Fluff rice with a fork. Sprinkle with reserved green tops.

Homemade Taco Seasoning

Recipe from https://www.familyfreshmeals.com/2013/05/diy-homemade-taco-seasoning.html

Instructions

Mix all ingredients together.

For the taco salad with cilantro dressing, just use 1 tablespoon of this mixture.

(If you want to use this homemade taco seasoning recipe for tacos, brown 1 pound of ground dark turkey or beef and drain. Add the seasoning and cook one minute. Add 3/4 cup water and a tablespoon of double tomato paste in a tube. Simmer 10 minutes.)

cilantro at the farmers market
cabbage at the farmers market
garlic at the farmers market
flower stall at the farmers market