[Recipe] Weekly Plated Tacos

Weekly Plated Tacos - as taken from Rawality by Karen Urbanek

This is a staple meal in our house. We enjoy it every week. We usually make enough for left overs. YUM!

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INGREDIENTS: 

Taco Lentils

Big family batch of lentils (cut in half for small families, or if you don't want leftovers): 

• 4 c. lentils (you can pre-soak these for 6 hours for a lighter, fluffier, and more bio-available lentil)
• 8 c. distilled or purified water (use slightly less if lentils are pre-soaked)
• 3 tsp. taco seasoning
  (try Karen's Original Terrific Taco Spice blend)
• 1-2 cloves minced garlic
  
• 2-3 tbsp. minced onions
  
• sea salt (to taste)  

You can take a shortcut by mixing in 1/2 can of salsa into your cooked lentils/beans along with taco seasoning and salt. The salsa already has onions, tomatoes, roasted veggies and spices in it. It's the ultimate "cheat" for instantly moist, flavored beans! We do it all the time. 

Cook the lentils in the water until soft. Drain extra liquid if some remains. Add spice blend, garlic and onion, and/or salsa!

Homemade Tomato-Mango Salsa 

Mix together: 

• 4-6 tomatoes, diced
• 1 mango (or 2 peaches, or chunks of pineapple), diced 
• 1/2 onion (optional)
• 3 TB apple cider vinegar
• 1-2 TB honey
• 1 TB oil of choice (extra virgin olive oil, tea seed oil, avocado oil, etc)
• Salt & pepper
• Cilantro if desired/available

(Warning: you'll want to drink the juice after! It's so delicious! Feel free to adjust the amounts of vinegar and honey until you reach desired level of strength. Also add in or take out whatever you'd like!)

How To Arrange

You can do this taco style, salad style, or layered bean dip style. I personally lay down a bed of lettuce, top it with taco lentils, and then pile on salsa, guacamole, olives, and any other goodies laying around. I use cassava flour tortilla chips as my fork! YUMMY!

Toppings: 

• Tomato-mango salsa
• Guacamole 
• Shredded lettuce 
• Slivered olives
• Organic raw cheddar cheese 
• Cashew cream (blend soaked and drained cashews, nutritional yeast, oil and salt) or organic sour cream 
• Organic (grain free if possible) tortilla chips (we love the Siete brand of grain-free tortilla chips) 

I have made this meal for families around the world, and it wins every time!! Bon Appetite my loves!

Bonus: Seasoning Blends 

Karen's Original Chili Powder Spice Blend (makes 1 cup of blend)

4 1/2 tbsp. paprika
3 tbsp. turmeric
2 tsp. dried red pepper flakes
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. ground cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. garlic granules
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/4 tsp. ground cloves

Combine the spices and store the mix in a sealed jar.

Karen's Original Terrific Taco Spice Blend (makes 2 cups blend)

8 tbsp. Karen's Original Chili Powder Spice Blend
6 tbsp. ground cumin
4 tsp. onion granules
1/3 c. garlic granules
2 tbsp. sea salt

Combine the spices and store the mix in a sealed jar.