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Mini Taco Salad Cups

Taco Salad Cups

Taco Salad Cups

 

I don’t really need an excuse to eat tacos! I absolutely love them! And since becoming a vegetarian I am always searching for new and inspiring recipes to make. These mini taco salad cups are the perfect and quick way to have tacos in a new and fun way.

This recipe is a very basic recipe that can serve as a blank canvas to whichever ingredient you wish to add to your bowls. Let your imagination run free! These are filled with refried black beans, tomato salsa, lamb’s lettuce, avocado salsa and feta cheese. You can certainly make them more filling if you wish by simply adding cooked quinoa or brown rice.

Also, the mini taco salad cups serve as a perfect snack for entertaining and kids will love them too! Hot sauce will make these taco salad cups even more delicious, so splash on that hot sauce.

For a vegan version you can substitute the feta and drizzle some of this cilantro-lime cashew cream recipe from my friend Sherrie from With Food+Love.

Enjoy!

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Mini Taco Salad Cups

Ingredients

  • 4 small corn tortillas (you can also substitute with flour tortillas)
  • Olive oil for coating the tortillas
  • 1 small can of black beans (pinto or Borlotti beans are also great)
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
  • 1 tsp of cumin
  • 1 lime
  • 2 tomatoes
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp cilantro (coriander)
  • 1 avocado finely diced
  • 1 tbsp of olive oil
  • 1/2 chili pepper (freeze the chili pepper to ease the grating)
  • 2 cups of lamb’s lettuce (if lamb’s lettuce is not available you can substitute with chopped romaine lettuce)
  • Feta cheese, queso fresco or your favorite cheese (if vegan omit this part and drizzle for example a lime-cilantro cashew cream)

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven at 375 F (190 C). In the meantime drizzle a bit of olive oil to each side of the tortilla and place it in the back of a cupcake pan, utilizing the spaces in between to form a nest. If your tortillas are not pliable, you can flash grill them on an open fire or a pan until soft. Once the oven is hot, place the tortillas for 10-15 minutes or until golden and crispy. Keep in mind that they will crisp up upon cooling.
  2. Prepare the refried beans by adding the onion and garlic to a pan reheated with a drizzle of olive oil on medium flame. Once the onions and garlic are soft, add the can of beans and stir. When the water from the beans has evaporated, you can add the cumin, salt and pepper to taste. At this point roughly mash the bean mix with a potato masher or simply the back of a spoon until desired consistency. Squeeze the juice of the 1/2 lime. Set aside.
  3. For the tomato salsa simply grate the two tomatoes on the fine side of a box grater until you have reached the skin of the tomatoes. The mix will be a bit runny, but that is what makes it special. Add the two tbsp olive oil, cilantro and season with salt and pepper.
  4. Make the avocado salsa by mixing the avocado,1 tbsp olive oil, lime juice, salt and pepper and grate the chili pepper on top of the mix. This trick I learned it from Jamie Oliver and have been using it ever since because it is the quickest way to add a spicy flair to any dish without almost any effort. Alternatively, you can finely dice the chili pepper.
  5. Finally, prepare the cups for assembly by placing the refried beans first, followed by the lamb’s lettuce, the avocado salsa and a drizzle the tomato salsa. Garnish with Feta cheese or your favorite cheese. You can also add some chopped cilantro (coriander), green onions and extra chili pepper. For the vegan garnish of the lime-cilantro cashew cream simply follow the above link.
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My 6 Must on Self-Care Routine

Avocado on toast for breakfast.

Avocado on toast for breakfast.

 

Having (and sticking to!) a self-care routine helps you get more in contact with your body and therefore, it makes it easier to detect what it lacks/needs. However, with busy schedules and increasing demands on ourselves it is a challenge to stay on track with our self-care routines. In my case, I have been trying to discipline myself and get a better understanding on the importance of the self-care routine. It is your base, how you start your morning most of the time dictates the rest of the day.

For vegetarians and people with special diets, committing to a self-care routine becomes even more important because sticking to for example, taking of our vitamins and supplements every day will ensure that whatever we are lacking due to our special diets are compensated by our supplements. What you include in your ‘must’ on self-care should be routines that are not only beneficial for you, but that are also simple to do on a daily basis when you wake-up. Having a simple routine will add to the success of sticking to it. My daily rituals help me connect with my body and myself.  Here are my 6 must on self-care:

1. Tongue scraping– This one I discovered over a year ago and I have been able to stick to it ever since. Every night our bodies regenerate, this is also so for our tongues. Scraping your tongue aid in removing any toxins and extra stuff your body has been able to expel during your sleep. Once you do it once, you will do it for ever! Trust me! Want to know more? This is a very informative article on the subject.

2. Warm lemon water– I started incorporating warm lemon water in my routine ever since starting the 21 days Lean+Green program. My health coach Sherrie from With Food and Love , recommends drinking a full glass of warm water with half a lemon each day to (among other things) aid in the balance of the alkalinity in the body. Drinking lemon water first thing in the morning serves as a flushing device for our bodies and prepares it to better absorb the nutrients from our breakfast. I do have to admit that in the beginning gulping the warm lemon water was not easy as I was not used to the taste, but I eased into it and now I can’t live without it (seriously!). If you try it out and find that it is a bit tough, add a touch of honey to start with and ease into it because it is not worth it to push too much on something which will later be abandoned. Take it easy!

3. Meditation– Incorporating meditation into my self-care routine has given me so much balance throughout the years. Those 10, 15 or more minutes I spend in silence with myself give me so much back throughout the day. It helps me calm my mind and connect to my source. I also read inspirational passages from books which help me energize my morning and therefore my day. If you are not familiar with meditation, mindfulness is also an alternative. Find what feels good for you, 10 minutes of reading a book, contemplation or whatever make you sit in silence for at least a couple of minutes before starting the day.

4. Vitamins and supplements– As I have mentioned before, people with special diets need special need in the department of vitamins and supplements. Vegetarians and vegans in particular because of their lifestyle need extra nutrients pumped into their bodies. A plant-based (extracted from algae) Omega 3 complex is of extra importance because those fatty acids help the body in wondrous ways, from reducing inflammation to aiding in the prevention of disease. A  good quality multivitamin is also another important supplement. Make sure you make a thorough research on the vitamins to ensure that the balance of nutrients is right for you. You can find more information on the subject here.

5. Movement– Getting your body to move is so important. Of all of the above, this is the one I have been struggling for a large portion of my life. I have finally come to terms with the importance of movement for my body, therefore, incorporating it and seeing it as part of my self-care routine helps me stay motivated and stick to it. I have tried so many ways of exercise, and now I have found what feels good for me and what I like, not what the latest fitness fad is. You need to stick to what feels good for you. In my case is Yoga, Pilates and walking. I like these types of exercises because they help me connect not only with my body, but also with my spirit. I prefer to do my movement in the morning, but you can choose the most convenient time for you. Your body, your rules!

6. Breakfast– This one might seem obvious for some, but it is worth mentioning because a large portion of people (myself included!) tend to skip this meal at times. When I started seeing breakfast as part of my self-care routine, it started making sense to me that whatever I was putting into my body first thing in the morning was the fuel for the rest of the day. Like a car, you would not dare to go on a large journey without fueling it, our bodies also need fuel. Increasing demands on ourselves means that taking the time to have a proper breakfast becomes a squeeze every morning. But if you don’t have much time some of my suggestions are: cereal bar (watch out for extra sugars and try to stick to natural ingredients, always), smoothies are also alternatives which are super easy to prepare and if you have frozen fruit in your freezer can be made in a flash, yogurt with some nuts and fruit, these are some ideas when you are in a hurry.

These are my top 6! What do you include in your self-care routine?

Also I am now featured on Bloglovin’ check it out!

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The Green Life

Green juice and tulips.

 

If someone would have told me a year ago that I would have been drinking and (gasp!) enjoying green smoothies, juices and the green life, I would have told them: “shut the front door!”. That is a PG version of what I would have said! Having struggled almost my entire life with weight issues and emotional eating, the Almi of the past would have been extremely surprised (and proud!) by this Almi of the future. However, today I woke up feeling a bit low energy because my body is going through a regeneration process, so I decided to share this story with you, the world.

This week I started another chapter of my adventure into healthy eating and self-discovery. Months ago, in January, almost by serendipity I discovered a program called Lean+Green given by the awesome health coach Sherrie Castellano. The program consist of a 21 days of healthy, wholesome and clean eating. So, at the moment I was ready to take my newly found vegetarianism to the next level; I contacted her and immediately signed myself up for the program. Although I thought I was ready enough, it was still a challenge, specially with giving up my cheese for 21 DAYS. I went through the typical ups and downs that are normal when you go through a regeneration process, which in my case included: cravings for carb-filled sugary stuff and of course cheese. I found myself one day opening the fridge and discovering in its very back a pot of smeerkaas (a Dutch version of a cheez whiz but more natural and without the nasty stuff!). Up until that moment I was on track, feeling on top of the world with my process, then like a monster creeping from the dark the CHEESE…My mind was filled with confusing info: “EAT THE CHEESE WOMAN!”, “girlfriend, if you even taste that cheese your are doomed!.” So, I would love to tell you that what happened next was a story of triumph, the underdog winning, but alas that did not happen because we are all human and we can and will fail at times. I took the pot, and ate it (almost entirely!) like a maniac. Yep, there you go! My dirty little secret. Or is it? At the moment I felt a mix of defeat and acceptance, I moved on from the experience and instead of using that moment of weakness to sabotage the rest of my process I stuck with it. So, I finished the 21 days and I learned a lot about myself and my body in the process.

The second time around was different, I was even more ready to embrace clean living and learning that what fuels my body fuels my life. So, that is where I am today, feeling a bit tired (part of the process) but feeling incredibly grateful for giving myself the opportunity to take this chance and learn even more about myself, about nature and about food. As I write this I have tears in my eyes because I am closer to myself, closer to the source.

Today,  I can tell you that the key to success lies within you, so closer that you think. I can also tell you that I will most probably be enjoying my cheese and my eggs in moderation in the future. That from time to time (specially during my lady days!) I will want to have a decadent chocolate cupcake. And I can also tell you that probably during the remaining days of the 21 day program I will not follow the rule book entirely, and yes…I WILL FAIL. But you know what? I am OK with it. Because the little victories, the failure, the tears and the joy are part of the process towards a greener life. I. AM. READY. All is well in my life!

Now, let me enjoy the last sip of that lovely grasshopper color green juice…

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Green Goddess Juice

Ingredients

  • 1 whole cucumber, depending on the size you can also use half
  • 1 lime, skin removed
  • 1 1/2 cup tightly packed spinach
  • 2 apples
  • 1 bunch of mint or to taste
  • 1 small piece of ginger (optional)

Instructions

  1. Place one by one the ingredients in a juicer. I like to start with the leaves first, in this case spinach and blend the juiciest fruits/vegetables at the end in order to give some lubrication to the juicer. I use a VersaPers slow juicer, but a centrifugal one is also good, if you do not have a juicer, you can always blend the ingredients in a blender and strain with a cheesecloth or fine sieve. The addition of the ginger and the amount it is totally up to you!
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