Meatless Monday: Vegetarian Taco Salad
Happy Monday! We hope you are ready for our weekly Meatless Monday statistic and recipe.
A study entitled “Red Meat Consumption and Mortality” was recently released from Harvard and explores the possible effects red meat may have on how long a person lives. The study’s two main authors and a preventative medicine resident took a look to specifically quantify how much giving up meat one day a week could lower the risk of death.
Among the many numbers that were crunched, the study authors discovered that if a person removed one serving of red meat a day and replaced that same serving amount with legumes, whole grains, or nuts, then the person would have a reduced risk of death. Legumes reduce risk by 1.5%, whole grains offer 2.1%, and nuts offer 3.0%. You can learn more about this study and the exact numbers here.
To improve our health and help with the environment, let’s take a look at this new recipe: vegetarian taco salad.
Vegetarian Taco Salad
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 1/2 cups fresh corn kernels or frozen, thawed
- 4 large tomatoes
- 1 1/2 cups cooked long-grain brown rice
- 1 15-ounce can black, kidney or pinto beans, rinsed
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano, divided
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 1/3 cup prepared salsa
- 2 cups shredded iceberg or romaine lettuce
- 1 cup shredded pepper Jack cheese
- 2 1/2 cups coarsely crumbled tortilla chips
- Lime wedges for garnish
- Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and corn; cook, stirring, until the onion begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Coarsely chop 1 tomato. Add it to the pan along with rice, beans, chili powder, 1 teaspoon oregano and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until the tomato cooks down, about 5 minutes. Let cool slightly.
- Coarsely chop the remaining 3 tomatoes. Combine with cilantro, salsa and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon oregano in a medium bowl.
- Toss lettuce in a large bowl with the bean mixture, half the fresh salsa and 2/3 cup cheese. Serve sprinkled with tortilla chips and the remaining cheese, passing lime wedges and the remaining fresh salsa at the table.
Recipe originally posted on Eating Well.
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