Recipe: Taco Salad, GAPS legal | GAPS Diet Journey (2024)

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One of my favorite pre-GAPS meals was soft-shelled tacos made with fresh corn tortillas, lightly fried in a cast iron skillet in some kind of fat. Butter, lard.

But since GAPS, I can't have corn tortillas. Taco salad is a close favorite to tacos… taco salad pre-GAPS meant tortilla chips broken up in the salad, grated longhorn cheese, sour cream and/or ranch dressing. Well, that's out, too.

So, here is my substitute, with which I am delighted. This recipe makes a large amount of salad and taco meat which I will use to have leftover lunch for a day or two.

I have a few kinds of lettuce in my garden, all red leafy types, and I picked two smallish heads to go with dinner. You will also want to consider having avocados with this salad, delicious!

Salad ingredients:

• 2 small heads of leaf lettuce
• 1/2 head of a medium sized iceburg lettuce
• 1 medium cucumber, quartered and sliced
• 2 medium carrots, shredded

Mix all the ingredients of the salad into a large bowl. I have an 8-quart stainless steel mixing bowl that I love to use as I can easily mix all the salad ingredients.

Taco Meat:

• 2 Tablespoons coconut oil [affiliate link]
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 4 cloves [affiliate link] garlic, chopped or minced
• 2 pounds ground beef
• 2 Tablespoons cumin
• 1 teaspoon sea salt [affiliate link]
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• mild chili powder [affiliate link], optional

Melt coconut oil (or other fat) in a cast iron skillet. Saute onion and garlic for about 5 minutes, then add ground beef to the pan with the other ingredients. Stir occasionally and smash any chunks of hamburger until it is fully cooked and in small pieces. I did not add the chili powder since my husband has realized he can't tolerate peppers.

Salsa

• 2 medium tomatoes, chopped (or 16 ounces GAPS legal jarred tomatoes)
• 4 green onions [affiliate link], chopped
• 1 small white or yellow onion, chopped
• 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 2 jalapenos, optional
• 2 Tablespoons sauerkraut, optional

Cut up salsa ingredients and mix together. The sauerkraut is completely hidden in this salsa, and a great way to hide it and add some fermented vegetables. I would normally add the jalapeno but since my hubby cannot tolerate peppers, so we have been foregoing adding peppers to meals we normally would.

I took two medium sized avocados and mashed them in a separate bowl.

I use a large size bowl for my salad. I put in two large handfuls of the salad, and I drizzle olive oil at that point. Then I spooned on some of the taco meat, salsa and avocado on top. To add heat to my own salad, I love original red TABASCO brand Pepper Sauce. With only four ingredients, it's GAPS legal!

Mix all together, enjoy! Delicious! I think the olive oil is the crowning touch because it really adds a great mouth feel.

This recipe was shared at Summer Salad Sundays at Easy Natural Food.

Let me know if you try this salad!

If you love recipes like this, I have two cookbooks you really need to check out ASAP! Beyond Grain and Dairy for gluten-free recipes and Winter Soups.