Tag Archives: healthy recipes

Curry in a Hurry! Simple Curry Base Recipe

Do you love Indian style curries, but don’t make them at home because you think they take too much time? Or effort? Or skill? Do you make curries at home, only to find that they’re nothing like the ones you order at your favorite restaurant? I’m going to let you in on a little secret…something I do, sometimes, to help save time. Ready? Here it goes:

It doesn’t look like much, I know. And, most traditional Indian cooks would not make so much gravy at one time…or freeze it. In fact, In India they don’t freeze much of anything (in my experience). But, luckily for you…and me…I’m not a traditional Indian cook. Continue reading →

Shrimp Fajitas (without the funky chemical “spices”)

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Have you ever went to the grocery store with the intention of making either fajitas or tacos that night for dinner? Did you pick up some amazingly fresh produce, buy some lovely seafood (or equally expensive chicken breasts), and then throw one of those packaged fajita/taco seasoning pouches in your cart? I have. Many times.

I’d go home, cook everything up, add the spice mix (following the directions on the back), take a bite, and immediately wish I would’ve went to Chipotle instead. There’s just always something so funky tasting about those little spice packets, and no wonder! Look at the ingredients:

I’m pretty sure Mexican’s don’t use soy sauce to make fajitas. Or caramel coloring. Or natural flavors. What the heck are natural flavors anyway? Shouldn’t the natural flavors come from the vegetables and the proteins? Where are the spices? After reading the back of that package, there was no way I was going to use that to make our dinner. A little salt, pepper, lime juice, cumin and chipotle would do the trick. I decided to use chipotle chile powder because it has a nice smokey flavor to it, and it’s not an artificial smokey flavor either. Chipotle chile powder is made from ground up smoked jalapenos. It’s not super spicy, but gives the dish the flavor and the kick that would be expected if you ordered fajitas in a restaurant.

I loved the texture on my lime…it looks like it has goosebumps!

I had bought a few green and red bell peppers last week, and they were starting to get a little wrinkly—the red peppers were 88 cents/each…which is a steal in our area. Here, in Rochester, red bell peppers are usually nearly $3 a piece! Isn’t that insane? One red pepper costs more than a whole pineapple! I’m glad summer is almost here so I can grow my own!!!

I didn’t have any shrimp at home, so unfortunately I had to make a trip to the grocery store. I bought a little less than a pound of medium wild US caught shrimp, an onion, and a new head of garlic. When I got home I threw the shrimp in a marinade, cut up all my veggies, and got to cookin’.

Cooking the shrimp—marinade and all!

One thing I really love about fajitas is that you can make them ahead of time and just reheat when you’re ready to eat them. Piyush decided that he had to go golfing today, so I had no idea what time he’d be back for dinner. Once he got home (at 7:15pm), dinner could be on the table in 5 minutes.

Two, Perfect Shrimp Fajitas

These fajitas were absolutely amazing, and ditching the pre-made spice mix made all the difference, I’m positive of it! I would even go so far as to say that my version of the shrimp fajita could rival that of any restaurant! Yes. They were that good.

Shrimp Fajita mixture

I served the fajita mixture on high fiber tortillas (50 calories/ea) that I had spread about a tablespoon of refried beans onto. I topped them with some romaine and greek yogurt. There were some beautiful tomatoes too, but I forgot all about them until after we finished eating. Dohhh!

My shrimp fajitas recipe makes quite a lot. This is a really light supper, and each fajita is only around 160 calories. How exciting is that?! I had two, Piyush had three, and there is more than enough left for dinner tomorrow. I work really early tomorrow and the following day, so not having to worry about making dinner will be a good thing. That means I can (hopefully) go to bed earlier! I might even make it to the gym!

Next time you make fajitas at home, I hope you are inspired to ditch the chemical packets and try your hand at making them “from scratch.” I swear it’s easy…and it’s way more healthy for you than adding a package of powder created in some lab!

Shrimp Marinade:

1 lb fresh medium sized, wild caught shrimps (not previously cooked)
1 large shallot, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
juice of half a lime
zest of half a lime
1/2 tsp salt
pepper
1 tsp. ground cumin powder
1 tsp. ground chipotle chile powder
2 tbsp. minced cilantro
1 tbsp. olive oil

Rinse and dry shrimp. Put them in a large ziploc bag along with the other marinade ingredients. Toss everything together until the shrimp are all evenly coated. Let the shrimp mingle with the marinade for around 30 minutes—while you are cooking the veggies.

Veggies:

2 large red bell peppers, cut into strips
2 large green bell peppers, cut into strips
1 large white onion, cut into strips
8 oz. baby bella mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
1/2 tbsp. olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste

Heat the olive oil in a large pan. Once it is hot add in the onions. Cook the onions over med-high heat until they are nice and browned. This will take around 10 min or so. Once the onions are browned, add in the garlic. Cook for about two minutes and then add the peppers. Stirring occasionally, cook the peppers until they are tender but still have a little bite to them. Add the mushrooms and cover the pan, they’ll take about 5 minutes to cook. Season the veggies with salt and pepper. Remove the veggies from the pan and set them aside.

In the same pan you cooked the vegetables, add a little olive oil (I used my misto). Dump the shrimp in the pan along with the marinade. Stir everything together and then put the lid on the pan. After a minute give everything another good stir and flip the shrimp. Once the shrimp have cooked for around 4-5 minutes (once the shrimp are fully cooked), add the veggies back into the pan and stir everything together. Let the mixture cook together for about 5 minutes, with the lid on. Take the lid off, scoop the mixture into tortillas, and enjoy!!!

Your mouth will thank you! Mine did. 🙂

Easy Aloo Tikki (Potato Patty)

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I thought today was a good day to prepare and freeze some Momos. Piyush and I are planning on visiting my family this weekend, and I wanted to take some easy—and healthy—food along. My family lives in a tiny town where there really aren’t many options for food. There are even less options for good food (unless mom is cookin’ something up). Piyush is going to be writing some software for my dad to use in his business—and plans to have it completed by Sunday, so he won’t really have a lot of time to devote to eating. I’m not sure if my family of (very) picky eaters will jump at the chance to try my steamed momos, but it’s worth a try.

I made the momos a little smaller this time, and ended up with a lot of leftover dough. I think next time I make them I will make double the filling and keep the amount of dough the same. (If you’re wondering what the heck a momo is, check out this post. It will enlighten you. I promise).

While making the filling for the momos I ended up with about a half cup of extra mashed potato. I decided I was going to make Piyush a special snack to eat when he came home from the office. The momos are an amazing treat by themselves, but those are for the weekend. Instead, I decided to make Piyush something I know he loves….Aloo Tikki!

“Aloo” means potato and “Tikki” means a small cutlet, patty or croquette. Aloo Tikki is basically just a patty made out of mashed potatoes and spices. It’s so easy to make, and so tasty. There are about a million recipes for this delicious little snack. Some recipes I read called for the use of a pressure cooker and some involved incredible amounts of prep time. I, personally, believe that something so simple should also be simple to prepare.

Because I was making the momos, I had the mashed potatoes made. I also had grated some carrots, diced some onions, and crushed some ginger. All I had to do was mix everything together…toss in some spices…and fry ’em up in a pan. I can’t say there is really a recipe—with an exact ratio of ingredients. Instead it’s kind of like…a little of this, and a little of that all tossed together and the results are a delicious party in your mouth.

I think the key to making a good aloo tikki is simply just tasting as you go. You could really throw anything in these patties: peas, cauliflower, fresh chiles…whatever you have! As for the potato, you’ll want to have enough to bind everything together. I also throw in a little bit of panko bread crumbs for some extra binding power. I hate it when the tikkis break apart when you’re cooking them!

As for the spices…salt, pepper, garam masala, coriander leaves (cilantro) and chile powder are all that I used. You could substitute panch phoron (Bengali 5-spice mix) for the garam masala…and that would be awesome! Just make sure to taste everything as you go along.

After you have everything mixed together really well, roll the mixture into balls—a little over a tablespoon will do. Then, roll the balls in flour (not too much), flatten into patties and heat up your oil! I don’t use much oil at all, just a little bit to coat the bottom of the pan (don’t use a non-stick pan!). Once the oil is heated, put the tikkis in the pan and let them cook until both sides are nicely browned. Serve the delicious aloo tikkis with both tamarind chutney and green (coriander/mint) chutney.

Yum!

Dinner tonight will also be quite simple. Leftovers!

Dal Makhani ---Lentils in a creamy tomato gravy. I use 1/4 c. half and half and 2 cups of yogurt to replicate what you'd typically get at an Indian restaurant. To help achieve that creamy look I blend everything together before I add the main ingredient (lentils) ...This is before the cooking.

Delicious! After 4 hours of cooking... This is not a quick and easy dish to make.

Yesterday was Holi, the Hindu holiday also known as the Festival of Colors, so I made Piyush a few different curries. I made Dal Makhani (or at least my version of it). I’ll post this recipe sometime soon…it’s long and kind of complicated, although it really shouldn’t be! It involved a lot of spices:

This wasn't even close to all the spices I used...this was only for one part of the gravy.

This dish took over 5 hours from start to finish, actually. Not all of the time was active cooking—but still. It took a long time!

I have also been craving more vegetables lately, meat just hasn’t sounded appetizing. Therefore I also made a curry that was a cross between Butter Paneer and Muttar Paneer. I made a really easy gravy (curry) and added in some mushrooms, peas and paneer.

Paneer is a fresh, Indian cheese made with milk. It reminds me a lot of tofu. You could use tofu in place of paneer, if you’d like. The dish will have pretty much the same flavor. Before I add paneer to a dish I fry it up in about 2 tsp. of oil and a tsp. of garam masala.

I just think it tastes better that way.

Have a happy weekend, everyone!!!!

Vegetarian Momos! …and Remembering Darjeeling

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While on our trip to India, Piyush and I met tons of incredible people, visited many spectacular places and tried many different foods (well…different to me!). I didn’t really think too much about it while I was there, but now that I’m back home in the states…I can’t get Darjeeling out of my head!

Darjeeling is a beautiful town located in the foothills of the Himalayas, very close to both Nepal and Tibet. It’s a major tourist destination, and like most everywhere in India…it’s crowded!

A street in Darjeeling

Tibetian Monks in Darjeeling

One of many Darjeeling Tea Estates

Darjeeling is also quite famous for the fabulous tea grown all along the hills…and for the momos!

I only ate momos twice while we were on our little holiday, but gosh, they were so good that I wish I would have had them every day! Oh, the things I take for granted…

Have you ever heard of momos? No? Probably not. I know I hadn’t before our trip. I don’t know if there are many places in the states where you can find sub-par momos— let alone the authentic, delicious momos. The closest you might get is a potsticker or dim sum, which although very similar, are not momos.

So what exactly is a momo?

It’s quite simple, really. A momo is basically a dumpling made with a flour/water based dough. They are native to Nepal and Tibet, and are very popular in the North-Eastern part of India. Inside the dough is a mixture of veggies, meats (optional) and aromatics. They can be steamed, fried and even boiled in soups. It’s amazing how something so basic can be so versatile, so tasty…and so addicting! After doing a little searching online, I found a couple recipes that looked promising. I took a few things from each recipe and came up with something that tasted almost exactly like I remembered.

In fact…they turned out so good, Piyush ate 8 of them in less than 10 minutes—and then he licked the plate!

The only piece of criticism he gave me was that I made my momos larger than I should have. Mind you, there is nothing wrong with making them large, the taste is the same; but they’re meant to be more “bite-sized” than “hockey-puck-sized.”

formed momo, before steaming

My recipe will make approximately 30 large momos—you could probably get 45 or 50 if you make them a little smaller. Out of curiousity I plugged my final recipe into a calorie calculator, and guess what?! Each large sized momo is around 85 calories!!! Awesome!!!

The dough is easy to make.

3 c. all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tbsp. baking powder
water —enough to make an even, stiff dough.

Pour the flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl. Add 1 cup of water to begin. Don’t use a spoon to mix, use your hands! Knead the dough, adding flour and water as necessary. I probably ended up using 3 1/5 c. flour and around 1 1/2 cups water—-but this will vary!

Cover the dough and let it rest for around 30 min. (I managed to wait 20. Patience is not something I possess…)

While the dough rests, make the filling.

1 medium red onion, diced
3 cups cabbage– finely shredded (I bought it in a bag, pre-shredded. I hate shredding cabbage! Hate it!)
1 large carrot, grated
1 1/2 tbsp fresh ginger, smashed and minced
1 giant potato (or 2 medium)—made into around a cup of mashed potato
1 1/2 tbsp chopped cilantro
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp Kalaunji seeds (substitute cumin seeds, mustard seeds, or leave out all together)
4 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

Mix the onion, cabbage, carrot, ginger, cilantro, salt and mashed potato in a bowl. Stir it until everything is combined. Heat the olive oil on the stove-top and pour the kalaunji seeds in and once they start to pop, dump all the oil/seeds in the veggie mixture. Stir everything until mixed together, and set aside.

Next, take the dough and pinch off little balls—about 1 tbsp. Roll the balls out into a some-what circular shape.

Roll the dough out (make them smaller if you're making bite-sized momos)

Pick the dough up in your left hand and plop a good heaping tablespoon of filling in the center.

Next, start crimping the edges and form the momo into a circular shape.

crimp and pinch the dough around the filling

Ready to be steamed!

***Make sure you keep a damp towel over the momos and the dough as you’re forming them. You don’t want the dough to dry out. ***

Once you get the momos all formed, you can either steam them right away or you can freeze them. I froze all of mine because I wasn’t sure when Piyush would be home to eat them. I placed them on a parchment paper lined baking sheet, popped them in the freezer and let them stay there a couple hours. Once they were fully frozen I put them into a giant ziplock bag, and back in the freezer.

When you’re ready to steam them:

Put water in a steamer pot and bring to a boil. Place the steaming basket(s) in the pot. If the water touches the basket, pour a little out.

Once the basket is in the pot, spray it with a little cooking oil (I used my misto)—you don’t want the momos to stick! Work in batches, and place momos in the basket in a single layer so they don’t quite touch.

Set the timer for 15 minutes and don’t take the lid off the pot until it buzzes. Resist the temptation. Once the timer goes off, take them out of the steamer and serve with some soy dipping sauce, chile sauce, or tomato chutney!

Enjoy a little bit of Darjeeling, half a world away!

Have you ever visited some place that was so amazing, it left you wishing you could go back? I have heard quite a few people who have been to Darjeeling say that they would love to retire there. I can totally understand!

Enjoy a couple more photos!

Baba enjoying some Darjeeling tea

The Perfect Health(ier) Pizza!

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I haven’t blogged lately, and it’s not because we haven’t been cooking and eating at home. In fact, I’ve cooked quite a bit. We’ve had blackberry-ginger glazed salmon, chicken biryani (these will all appear on the blog, eventually!), and homemade pizzas.

I love Pizza. There is just something so mouth-watering about dough smothered in tomato sauce and topped with gobs of cheese. So mouth-watering…but so unhealthy!!!! Therefore, I don’t eat pizza, or “zah”—as I affectionately call it, very often anymore. Piyush really dislikes pizza (blasphemous!), and much prefers his “pizza” on a crispy tortilla instead of a soft, chewy dough.

I decided to try and change his mind, to convert him into a pizza lovin’ maniac. But, it would not be easy! With the goal of creating a crispy—yet somewhat doughy (and possibly a little healthy)—crust, and a flavorful homemade sauce…I got to work. I scoured the internet and found a couple dough recipes that had possibility. I tried a few, but couldn’t find perfection. So, I mashed them together—taking what I liked from some, and discarding what I hated from others. Some would show promise, only in the end to puff up into a more bread-like crust. That wasn’t going to work!

Eventually I combined recipes to come up with the perfect recipe, and the perfect technique. I think both are really equally important…and you can get a totally different crust using the same recipe depending on how you prepare it. I found that rolling the dough out with a rolling pin yielded the exact texture I was trying to achieve for the crust. After it was rolled out I pricked it all over with a fork to keep the dough from bubbling up. I sprayed it really quickly with olive oil, using my Misto (I love the Misto!). Then, I pre-cooked the crust for a few minutes in a 450 F degree oven using a pizza stone—just to make sure it got ultra crispy.

Next step…the sauce. I wanted something that had a fresh, rustic taste. Something that was everything canned/jarred pizza sauce you find at the grocery store was not. I don’t know how I did it, but I got the sauce right the very first time! Piyush proclaimed it the best he’s ever tasted, and he said Italy would be proud. (Haha—thanks, honey!…but I don’t know if I’d go that far!)

Aside from tasting really good, this sauce is also ultra easy!

fresh mozzarella, basil and mushroom pizza

After I had both the crust and the sauce figured out…I had to decide what to top it with. I wasn’t really in a meat eating mood and I wanted to stick with something simple and flavorful. We had lots of mushrooms in the fridge, and basil too. I knew Piyush loves Mozzarella…and since I was trying to convince him that pizza is a food he should love…that decision was easy. Mozzarella, it was! We bought a 8oz ball, and I used about half of it. I thinly sliced the ball and then flattened those slices even more with my hands. I dried them off with a paper towel (they were a little wet), cut them into halves, and slapped them on the the zah.

This pizza was simply delicious. It was so easy, inexpensive, and flavorful. And the best part….Piyush loved it! In fact, he ate half of it! I had two slices and it left me feeling full and satisfied.

Calorie-wise, each slice is equal to approximately 150 calories. How awesome is that?! I’m not sure how it tastes when it’s reheated yet…but I have a couple slices left for lunch tomorrow! Yum!

Aside from the results…the other thing I love about both the crust and the sauce recipes are that they freeze up awesome! If you keep a little dough and sauce in the freezer, making a pizza will be way faster than waiting for delivery (and just as easy, too)!

Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

(makes two 12″ crusts—8 slices/ea)

1 1/2 c. all purpose flour
1 c. whole wheat flour (plus more for kneading) I use Indian atta flour, for the best texture
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 c. warm water
2 1/4 tsp. active, dry yeast
1 tbsp. honey

Directions:

Combine the warm water, honey and yeast in a bowl. Let this sit until it becomes foamy— about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl combine the flours and salt. Once the yeast mixture is foamy add it to the flours. Stir, using a wooden spoon, until the dough begins to come together—then add the olive oil.
Knead everything together, adding additional flour (a little at a time) until the dough is moderately stiff and no longer wet. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise for about a half hour.
Sprinkle a cutting board or parchment paper with some cornmeal. Divide the dough into 2 portions (freeze one, if you’d like) and place one portion on the cornmeal covered surface. Roll the dough out to a thin circle using a rolling pin.
Poke holes all over the crust using a fork. Then, pre-bake the crust for 5 minutes in a 450 F degree oven (that has been preheated with a pizza stone for about 30 min). Remove. Spread the crust with sauce and the toppings of your choice.
Bake at 450 F degrees (again, on the pizza stone) for about 10 minutes—or until the crust gets a little browned and the cheese gets all melty.

Easy Tomato Pizza Sauce

3 or 4 large garlic cloves
3 medium tomatoes
1 tbsp olive oil, plus more for cooking garlic
5 or 6 large basil leaves
salt and pepper—to taste
1/2 tbsp sugar

Directions:

Peel, smash and chop garlic. Add about 1 tsp. of oil into a pan and saute until garlic begins to turn a little brown (watch it closely—garlic burns easily!)
Put garlic, tomatoes (quartered), 1 tbsp olive oil and basil leaves in blender. Blend until everything is combined, you can leave the tomatoes a little chunky if you want.
Pour sauce into the same pan you cooked the garlic in—add some chopped tomatoes if you’d like. Add sugar and stir everything together. Simmer on medium heat for about 30-40 minutes or until it thickens.
Season with salt and pepper.

So easy…and so perfect!!!

Also…How cute is this?! It’s my cat wearing a mini scarf! I’m starting to get the hang of this knitting thing…

Harry modeling his scarf

Monday Madness! and a Greek Inspired Dinner

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I really enjoy Mondays. Though, I haven’t always. In fact I used to spend Tuesday-Sunday dreading the upcoming Monday. Extreme? Probably; but when I was young(er) with few(er) worries and responsiblies, Monday meant that the weekend was ending…and work/school was starting. Mondays were an unpleasant jolt back to reality, and I hated them for that. Now, I work every other weekend. And sometimes Monday signifies the end of my week, not the beginning. Monday is the new Friday. Sort of.

Mondays also mean I’m obligated to go to the gym. I need routine and consistency. I also need to feel accountable, and the only thing I’ve found that works is to sign up for a program where I know people are expecting me. For some weird reason I feel worse letting down complete strangers than I do letting myself down. How screwy is that?! So, Monday night has become Cable Class night. And I look forward to it!

I really like all the trainers at the gym, but I’ve got to say I’m partial to either Paula or Angie. I feel that they know my limits and know how to push me. They also know when I’m being lazy, and that’s important…If they have all this faith that I can do something, maybe I really can. And that’s usually how it works.

Tonight’s cable class was extra hard, probably for a few reasons. The first being that I haven’t really worked out since returning from India—call it an extended holiday, if you will. Secondly, I decided to wake up this morning and take a yoga class. My arms were on fire! Now, they are jello. …But I feel good. Like, real good!

After the gym I came home and heated up dinner. Because my class is at 7:45 pm and I don’t really want to work out on a full stomach, I usually put together a meal and have it all ready to heat up when Piyush and I get home around 9. I know 9 seems like a really late time to eat a big dinner, but it’s what works for us…so we do it.

Tonight we had Greek! We love Greek food and tend to order take out way more than we should! I decided it was probably time to make something healthy that had those same flavors, and today was as good of a day as any other. This dinner was really simple and honestly there aren’t really any “real” recipes.

Basically it’s brown rice with a little lemon juice and greek seasoning, grilled and seasoned chicken, and steamed summer squash/zucchini. I also smothered it in tzatziki sauce!

I wish I could say I made the sauce, but I had a container of tzatziki left from the restaurant here in town. It’s a yummy yogurt based sauce that makes a great dip for celery sticks, so I always try to have some on hand. It’s really easy to make too…and next time I actually make my own I’ll definitely share the recipe!

But now I have to sleep! I have to work early tomorrow.

Tuesdays….sigh. The only good thing about Tuesday is “Teen Mom!” Hah!

Oh! Before I go, I also have to just say that I am so proud of my little sister!!! She had an interview today at the Mayo Clinic School of Med….and I couldn’t be more excited for her!!!!! There are only 2 more spots open…and 12 more to interview, but I know she’ll get accepted! They’d be goofy not to accept her! She looked just like a little doctor, all dressed up in her suit and pearls. Yay!, Michelle!

Vegetarian Bean Taco Salad

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I must be in a Mexican kinda mood, because it seems that’s all I feel like cooking lately! I’ve also felt like eating beans. Lots of beans.

source (you can also click this link to learn about the health benefit of beans)

When I was planning dinner the other day, I decided I’d make a vegetarian taco salad for three reasons:

1. Tacos are delicious.

2. Salads are good for you.

3. I can eat the bowl I serve my salad in. Now, that’s exciting!

I decided to get a little head start on my taco filling. Not that it takes a long time or anything- in fact, it takes hardly any time!- but mostly because I didn’t want to do it later. My theory when it comes to dinner preparation is the sooner the better. The longer I put it off, the lazier I become.

Before I started turning regular cans of black and pinto beans into delicious, taco-flavored delicacies, I chopped up some veggies and had myself a little snack.

I made a simple Indian inspired salad (I’ve blogged about it here), and added a tablespoon or so of aloo bhujia—fried, spiced potato noodles—for a little crunch. I think the weather outside has me craving Summer. It seems like spring and was even 50 degrees today! This salad screams Summer, but sadly the tomatoes and cucumber screamed “out of season”! …Back to reality. I still have over 5 months before Summer arrives!

After eating my snack, I decided to get started on my tortilla bowls. When I lived with my grandparents, after moving home from college, this was a meal I often made for dinner. It all started when I was at the supermarket and had a mad craving for a taco salad. I picked up some ground turkey, grabbed the lettuce and veggies and I found the pre-made taco shell bowls. I flipped over the package, and realized that one bowl was nearly 500 calories! Whoa! Then I got to thinking (I know, right!?!)…A taco shell bowl is really just a tortilla! So I went home and draped torillas over glass pyrex bowls and baked them at 400 degrees, until they were crisp. Genius! I used whole wheat, low calorie tortillas and was able to knock the calories of my taco shell bowl down to a measly 80 cals. Awesome! Now, I have a couple fancy taco shell bowl molds. They make awesome bowls, but they’re really completely unnecessary.

After my bowls were baked, I started on the bean mixture. I used a combination of pinto and black beans because I really love the creaminess of smashed pinto beans. Weird? Probably. Delicious? Oh.My.God.YES! I heated them through, had a fun time smashing them, and then set them aside.

Then all I had to do was chop the romaine and assemble. Easy!

It's a taco! It's a salad! It's a taco salad!

Bean Taco Filling

2 tsp. olive oil (you don’t need much)
2 cans of beans (any kind), rinsed (alternatively you could use dried beans. 3 cups total.
1 small red onion
3 fat garlic cloves
1/2 c. green bell pepper
1 serrano chile
1 package low-sodium taco seasoning (or make your own!)
1 1/2 c. water
lime juice, to your taste
salt, to your taste (you probably don’t need any with the canned beans and taco seasoning, though)

Directions:

Heat your pan over medium heat and add the olive oil. Once the pan is hot, saute the onion, chile and green pepper until they’re all soft and cooked through.
Add garlic and saute about a minute, then add the taco seasoning (or spices, if you make your own) Cook for about a minute until the spices are no longer raw.
Add the beans and the water. Once it starts to boil, smash as many of the beans as you’d like.
Cook until water disappears and the mixture thickens. Squeeze in a little lime juice, and give it a good stir.

I topped my salad with about 1/2 c. bean mixture, some of my Indian salad, a tiny bit of cheese, and a dollop of greek yogurt.

All healthy meals should be this good!