Healthy Taco Bowl

Tacos are awesome.  It’s just that simple.

Healthy Taco Bowl04

There are roughly a bazillion ways to make a taco.  (Yes, “bazillion” is a technical term.)  You can go balls to the wall on calories and toppings.  You can make it vegetarian.  You can even do a non-Mexican take on a taco (which I love but I admit that always plays with my mind a little).

Today I chose to enjoy tacos in a healthy and a lazy way.  By lazy, I mean, I simply threw all of the ingredients into a bowl (or actually a plate) instead of taking the time to make individual taco shell style ones.  I’ll save that for another time, when I’m feeling more ambitious.

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Skipping the taco shell also means that I’m reducing the calories and fat content here.  Instead I used quinoa to act as the foundation.  I love that stuff!  It’s hard to believe that I once hated it.  The trick is to cook it in chicken or vegetable broth instead of water.  Boom, better flavor!  If you don’t like quinoa, brown rice would be a great alternative.

If there was a way to reduce the fat and calorie content here then I did it.  (I might be trying to make up for the not-so-healthy breakfast I ate on Sunday along with any other splurges that I might have indulged in over the “sports holiday” weekend.  😉 )  I used ground turkey instead of beef, reduced fat cheese instead of high test, and I even swapped in yogurt for the sour cream.

This also has the advantage of being super quick to whip up so it’s perfect for me to make on a week day night.  Also, since my husband doesn’t like quinoa, I packed up the leftovers for myself.  That means it also made for even a super quick and tasty future lunch.  (Freebie!)

What kinds of tacos do you make and do you have a favorite?

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Healthy Taco Bowl Recipe
(About 4 servings)

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup quinoa, dried
  • 1/4 cup taco seasoning
  • 3 tablespoons water
  • 1 pound ground turkey
  • toppings of your choice (I used shredded lettuce, grape tomatoes, reduced fat cheddar cheese, Greek yogurt, and chopped chives.)

Directions:

  1. Cook the quinoa according to the directions on the package.  Note, I highly recommend using chicken broth or vegetable broth instead of water to enhance the flavor, but it is not required.
  2. In small bowl, mix together the taco seasoning and water and set it aside.
  3. In a medium skillet, add the ground turkey.  (Note, my skillet is a non stick skillet.  For this recipe, to keep it healthy, I did not need to add oil.  Feel free to do so at your discretion if you think that you need it in order to avoid the turkey sticking to your skillet.)
  4. Add in the taco seasoning mixture and stir it all together.
  5. Cook the ground turkey mixture.
  6. To build your taco bowl, start with some of the cooked quinoa.
  7. Add some of the cooked ground turkey on top of the quinoa.
  8. Top the ground turkey with the toppings of your choice.

Source:  Tina’s Chic Corner

 

Rating:

3 Hats

 

Here are some other awesome healthy meals.

Black Bean and Cheese Enchiladas

07Black Bean and Cheese Enchiladas

Butternut Squash, Kale, and Sausage

03Butternut Squash, Kale, and Sausage

Quinoa and Black Beans

03Quinoa & Black Beans

 

 

Comments

  1. Obsessed with your use of quinoa! I had mexican tonight 🙂

    1. Tina says:

      So happy you approve! 🙂

  2. I heart tacos and mexican style foods so much. So much flavour and deliciousness. I’ve gotta get through 90 minutes of bikram yoga before this will be in my life. But…… I’m heading straight to the shops to grab the ingredients to make this for my dinner. Thanks lovely lady for the inspiration. 🙂

    1. Tina says:

      Awh… I’m a lovely lady. 🙂 Thank you!

  3. Ashley says:

    Bazillion is totally a technical term 🙂 I use it all the time! haha

    These look delicious – I hated quinoa for the longest time too but now really enjoy it, go figure!

    1. Tina says:

      Haha…I thought my husband made up that word.

  4. What an awesome way to still enjoy the flavour of tacos – but in a healthy way. I have to try this recipe out!

    1. Tina says:

      I appreciate the lovely compliments! I hope you love it just as much as I do. 🙂

  5. Daria says:

    What a joy of colors and tastes, needs to be very tasty.

    1. Tina says:

      Thank you!

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