Paleo diet shopping list

TACO SALAD

If you come over to our house and I wasn’t expecting you, I’ll probably try to feed you this taco salad. It’s one of my favorite easy recipes, and I never get sick of it (probably because it’s topped with avocado, salsa, and lime—three of my favorite things). I almost always have the ingredients on hand because, in my opinion, it’s just an amalgamation of Paleo staples. Onion, garlic, ground beef—the only thing you may not have in your kitchen right now is taco seasoning, but that’s easy enough to obtain (and if you had to go without it, this recipe would still be delicious). SERVES 4

PREP TIME: 5 minutes

COOK TIME: 15 minutes

1 to 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

½ onion, diced

1 or 2 garlic cloves, minced

1 pound ground beef

¼ cup cherry tomatoes (optional)

1 tablespoon taco seasoning

Freshly ground black pepper

2 to 3 cups chopped romaine lettuce, or the salad mix of your choice

4 to 6 tablespoons your favorite Paleo salsa, for garnish

1 avocado, diced or simply quartered, for garnish

1 lime, cut into wedges, for garnish

  1. In a large pan over medium heat, heat the olive oil. Sauté the onion until slightly translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, and cook for another minute.
  2. Add the ground beef. Stir it around until it begins to brown, and cook all the way through, 5 to 7 minutes. If there’s a lot of liquid, carefully drain it off and return the pan to the heat.
  3. Add the cherry tomatoes (if using), and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes, or until they start to get wilty and some of them begin to burst. Stir in the taco seasoning, season with pepper, and remove the pan from the heat.
  4. Divide the lettuce evenly among 4 bowls, and top each lettuce pile with the ground beef mixture. Garnish each salad with the salsa, avocado, and lime, and serve.

VARIATION 1 CHICKEN TACO SALAD: If you’re temporarily tired of beef, re-create this recipe with ground chicken instead (the cook time should be about the same).

VARIATION 2 SHRIMP TACO SALAD: Looking for a seafood meal? Use a pound of peeled and deveined shrimp with the tails removed instead of beef and cook until pink (the cook time will be a few minutes shorter).

PREP TIP: Cook the ground beef and chop the veggies on Sunday evening so you’re ready for a Monday or Tuesday taco salad dinner.