Taco Salad

Taco salad. So simple, yet full of pitfalls if you don't pay attention. Did you know that most pre-made taco

seasoning packets have gluten and soy in them? So do some salsas. Chips, it's almost unavoidable unless you make them yourself. Who has time for that? So, here is my rule of thumb. Gluten I avoid 100% where I know it is in something. (I'm still learning what has it and what doesn't.) Sugar I limit as much as humanly possible, but allow small tastes here and there to avoid binges. Soy, I use my discretion. I will eat something with soy twice a week. Which means I have to really be picky about what I'm willing to let slide. If something has all three offenders it is on the "absolutely not, ever" list. Since I seasoned my taco meat with single ingredients, and used soy and gluten free salsa, I'm willing to take the hit on soy for this meal. Herdez salsa is great. We like to drain a little of the juice to make it less runny and more chunky.

EDIT: Target sells tortilla chips that are soy free. Time to stock up. No more limiting how often I have Mexican tortilla chip-based meals. WOOT!


I used ground turkey for my meat and seasoned it with dried chives, salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and crushed red pepper flakes. And since it is green chile season down here in southern New Mexico, get ready for a lot of Mexican recipes. Coincidentally, I have found that Mexican cuisine is gluten free-friendly as long as you use corn tortillas. Flour tortillas (*sniff*) we have to stay away from.

Anyways, this salad was amazing. Here are my layers:
White corn chips
Chopped lettuce
Ground Turkey
Green chile
Mexican cheese blend
Sour cream
Salsa
White onion
Diced avocado

Next time I think I'll add rice and black olives. Mmm!

Mango Walnut Salad

The great thing about changing your diet is that it forces you to be open to new culinary ideas. I don't usually think of putting fruit in my salads, but it is so worth a try. This is my new favorite salad! I may be making it once a week. I am not even kidding. This was a collaborative effort. My friend brought the salad part, I provided the grilled chicken and feta cheese. Here's what you need: 1 mango, about 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, grilled chicken, and feta cheese. Y-U-M!

If you live by a Dion's, it went perfectly with a drizzle of Dion's ranch dressing. Ok, I'm going to go wipe the drool off my chin now. Eat up!

Quinoa Tabouli

I guess tabouli is a traditional mid-eastern wheat based meal. It's a cold salad, so it works best if you cook your quinoa the day before and use the refrigerated leftovers. (Hint: quinoa has really good flavor if you cook it in gluten free vegetable broth instead of just water.) I found a recipe at allrecipes.com and then used what I had.

Ingredients:

2 cups chilled quinoa

1 can black olives

2 Tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup shredded carrots

1 sliced cucumber

2 chopped tomatoes

1 cup chopped spinach

1/4 cup chopped pecans

1/8 tsp cumin

Add all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. It is on the sour side. So use less juice if you don't like sour flavors as much. This was a great dinner for a hot day!

Apple Turkey Pecan Salad

Have you ever tried really hard to make something and when you think you have it, you taste it and are so disappointed you throw your hands up and wail, "I can't do this anymore!"

I was having a small pity party. 

Mayonnaise, in particular Best Foods, is a difficult food for me to give up. 

It is a soy rich food. So I thought I'd try my hand at homemade mayo. 

It was a disaster. 

As a result, a can of tuna and three boiled eggs found their way in the trash along with the goopy mess I just concocted. 

The consolation prize was worth it, though. 

After getting a pep talk from my sweet husband, I tried again. And this was a great success!

Layer 1: Spinach

Layer 2: Dietz and Watson's Gluten Free Black Forest Turkey 

Layer 3: Chopped apple

Layer 4: Chopped muenster cheese

Layer 5: Halved cherry tomatoes

Layer 6: Fresh pecans

Drizzle with Drew's (soy free, gluten free) Greek Dressing. 

It was delish!