Wednesday, October 01, 2008

Gluten Free Taco Salad Recipe

With concerns about Celiac (no wheat, barley, or rye), as well as blood sugar and weight loss considerations, dinner is sometimes something I now have to think about a bit.

Right now, until I get used to the new requirements, I'm planning simpler meals with fewer ingredients. But I love to cook and experiment, as does my husband, and so we came up with this taco salad a few nights ago, made without the fatty/carby chips (or their calories). It used (relatively) few ingredients, and was done in a flash.

Here is our recipe:

1 cup sharp cheddar cheese
1 pound (90% lean) ground beef, drained
1 cup chopped onion
6 cups chopped raw cabbage
2 small raw tomatoes
12 large black olives, sliced

Toppings, each
3 tbsp taco sauce
2 tbsp light Italian dressing (Gluten Free)
4 tbsp jalapeno slices

Serves 4. Season the meat with pepper & garlic saltcel, adding a few of the onions, if desired. Brown in a skillet until done, drain well. Divide cabbage into 4 bowls of 1 1/4 cup each, add veggies, meat, cheese evenly among the bowls. Garnish with taco sauce, light, (gluten-free) Italian, and jalapenos if desired.

From browning the meat to serving took less than 20 minutes. I cut veggies and filled bowls while the meat cooked, checking it from time to time.

It really was delicious. Crunchy, spicy, and full of flavor. If calories or carbs aren't an issue, add a few yellow or white corn tortilla chips. Many are gluten free, but always look.

According to Calorie Count at About.com(^), each serving has 458 calories, 22.7 grams of fat (a bit high), and 17.9 grams of carbohydrates (about half of what I want to eat in a meal). They give it a Nutritional Grade of "B+", which isn't too bad.

What are you having for dinner tonight?

1 comment:

rawshark said...

thank you for the recipe! I tried making a burger with Indian spices, ironic since India is not a beef eating nation! I threw in some peppers and a lot of garam masala, it turned out okay--I think next time I'll add onions and garlic, and not put so much garam masala