Clean Taco Salad

Wow, things have gotten crazy!

33 weeks!!!

We are officially 33 weeks along today - insane, right?

I'm still eating super clean, and avoiding refined sugar like it's the plague - still staying as active as possible, although I've toned way back on the intensity of my workouts. Usually Pilates or yoga is my go-to workout every day now! Weird, right? I've always been so hard core it's hard to make myself step back and listen to my body!

Anyways, I digress!

Tonight, I wanted Oreos. Pretty much like every other night - no worries, I have had a single Oreo in many years. ;) But hubby and I DID want something different for dinner - and I recalled my days as a teenager, remembering one of my favorite dishes: taco salad.

The only difference is that back then, I had about a pound of sour cream, layers of cheese, that gross taco salad seasoning package (can you say chemical firestorm?!) and about 532445565 chips with it.

These days are much, much different. I not only have this baby to think about, I also have my little guy with his compromised immune system. I've been sick throughout this entire winter anyways, but when you add in dairy, processed food, and yes, sugar (sigh - hence the no Oreos), your immune system is even more suppressed. I have no desire to get even more sick and pass it on to him!

SO with that said, I threw this beautiful CLEAN dinner together - and in the words of hubby, it was the most amazing taco salad of all time, ever". :) and yes, completely CLEAN. No junk or chemicals. And did I mention how fast and easy this was to prepare?

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Yields: 2 - 3 servings

What you need:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 lb lean ground beef or turkey
• 1 can Amy's organic black bean chili (you can use another type, but make sure there's no junk or artificial anything in it!)
• 1/2 onion
• 1/2 green pepper
• 1/3 avocado, mashed
• 1 Roma tomato, diced
• Fresh cilantro, chopped, to taste
• Black pepper
• Garlic, minced
• Beanito's chips - all beans, no corn ingredients!

In a cast iron pan, heat olive oil on low/medium heat. Add ground beef or turkey, and cook until thoroughly done.

While meat is cooking, chop onion, green pepper and cilantro. Add to cooked meat. Add minced garlic and stir thoroughly.

Chop tomato and mash avocado, set aside. Once veggies and meat are thoroughly cooked, add the chili and heat thoroughly. Add to a dish.

Layer tomatoes on top.

Add mashed avocado.

Either use the chips to scoop out the taco salad mixture:

Or, if you're like me, crumble them right up and use a fork :)

Enjoy!!