Beef and Black Bean Taco Salad

• By
• Catherine Roscoe Barr

Image by Catherine Roscoe Barr
Corn taco bowls offer a gluten-free alternative to wheat tortillas

For tonight's dinner, try dressing up your salad with a spicy mix of ground beef and black beans in a cute little gluten-free taco bowl

At the suggestion of my naturopathic doctor, I set out to plan my meals for two weeks of going gluten-free, dairy-free, and sugar-free – a little cleanse of sorts.

Around the time I started planning my two-week menu I got really sick and decided it was too much to contend with to have so many restrictions in my diet when I could barely get out of bed.

When I got better, I decided that life's too short to go gluten-free, dairy-free, and sugar-free.

Long story short, this is one of the meals that came out of my menu-planning session. It's gluten-free, dairy-free, and sugar-free but full of flavour, full of healthy ingredients, and simple to prepare.

It's a keeper and I'm happy to report that, due to my lack of dietary restrictions, I washed it down with a beer.

I always buy organic extra-lean ground beef when it's available at my local grocery store. It doesn't cost that much more than regular extra-lean ground beef and it's nice to know that care was taken in preparing it.

Ingredients

Serves 6

• 500 g organic extra-lean ground beef
• 1 can black beans, drained
• 2 tsp vegetable oil
• 1/2 onion, finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 tbsp Mexican chili powder
• 6 large handfuls mixed baby greens
• 6 tbsp salsa (see recipe here)
• 1 avocado, sliced
• 6 corn taco bowls

Instructions

1. Heat 1 tsp oil in medium frying pan over medium heat.
2. Add half the onion, half the garlic, and half the jalapeno, cooking for about 2 minutes.
3. Add beef and cook until no longer pink.
4. Add tomato paste and half the chili powder, stirring until well combined.
5. Remove from heat and set aside.
6. Meanwhile, in separate frying pan, heat remaining oil over medium heat.
7. Add remaining onion, garlic, and jalapeno, cooking for about 2 minutes.
8. Add beans and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring often.
9. Mash beans with hand blender until mixture is chunky.
10. On each plate, place a handful of greens and a taco bowl, fill with equal portions of beef and beans, and top with salsa and avocado.