What is Meatless Monday? Meatless Monday is a day to try and not eat meat, and that is easy for us because we are vegetarian (well mostly, sometimes we eat fish). If you do eat meat and want to try eating less, this is a way to not eat meat one day a week. Everybody likes to be healthy but sometimes it is hard. So if you try this recipe out for a Meatless Monday you are off to a good start. And we are told that the quinoa and black bean mix we do does a good job of being like a meat filling. And make sure you try the Red Pepper Cashew sauce – it may sound strange, but we promise you it is most delicious.
This recipe was created by Emily, me, and my dad because he became a vegetarian and this recipe was perfect for filling in for his taco cravings. We shared this recipe at the Princeton Junior School and Whole Foods Market when we were invited to do a cooking demo.And we are sharing it tomorrow at our school. Here are some pictures from a recent cooking demo. All the kids loved it! We hope that you give it a try and let us know if you do!
Quinoa and Black Bean Taco Ingredients:
- 1 cup of quinoa (will make about 2.5 cups cooked quinoa)
- 1 can black beans (do not rinse or strain)
- 1 packet taco seasoning (try out some natural ones)
- gluten free (corn) or flour tortillas, steamed cabbage leaves or long romaine lettuce leaves (our mom likes the leaves)
- ½ head iceberg lettuce, shredded
- 2 tomatoes, diced
- 2-3 ripe avocados, diced (we like lots of avocados so more is better)
- 1 sweet onion, diced (optional – our dad likes onion)
- Tabasco sauce & taco sauce (we both like hot sauce!)
- shredded cheddar cheese (or can try vegan)
- sour cream (or plain Greek yogurt or vegan option)
- Cashew Cream sauce (recipe to follow). This is the best topper!
Instructions:
- Rinse your quinoa in cold water using a fine mesh strainer. It’s very important to rinse your quinoa before you cook it otherwise it will taste very bitter.
- In a sauce pan, add 1.5 cups of water to your quinoa
- Stir in half a packet of taco seasoning to the water and quinoa so it cooks with this seasoning.
- Bring the quinoa to a boil and turn heat to low, cover and let simmer for 10-12 minutes.
- When the water is absorbed put the quinoa in a skillet and add 1 can of black beans (do not rinse or strain the black beans, you want the liquid from the beans).
- Add the rest of the taco seasoning, and stir in.
- Add 2 tablespoons of water, and let the mixture warm up for about 5-7 minutes.
- Heat up either your gluten free or flour tortilla (or steam cabbage leaves)
- Now chop up our suggested vegetables and put out the suggested toppings to make a “taco bar” for people to add their favorite fillings.
- Don’t forget to add Cashew Sauce to your taco (recipe below)!
Red Pepper Cashew Sauce (approx 2 cups of sauce):
This sauce is delicious on our on tacos AND let sit in fridge for several hours or overnight and it will thicken so it’s perfect as a dip with blue corn chips chips and veggies!
Ingredients:
- 1 cup raw whole cashews
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup unsweetened plain almond milk
- ½ cup roasted red pepper
- 1/8th teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 Tablespoon nutritional yeast
- Few cranks pepper from a pepper mill
Instructions:
- Add cashews, almond milk & water to blender. Blend until smooth.
- Add in all other ingredients and blend until completely smooth.
- Pour on your taco or use as a dip. It’s one of our favorites!!
- No matter how you eat it, enjoy!
Lyla & Emily 🙂
