About the College Veggie...

Hey all! I love food! I love to cook nutritious food and bake for my friends - on a college budget. This blog chronicles the best (and worst) of my kitchen adventures. I just completed a BS in Kinesiology and am working on a Masters in Public Health and dietetics, so expect these posts to be full of healthful foods and great information. Most of the info from this blog comes from a combination of internships I've done with RDs and reputable websites, as well as information I've picked up other ways over the years.

I believe that food should be real, and most ingredients you use every day should look like the foods picked out of the ground or off a tree. Food should also taste good. Not like a salt-lick or a grease-fryer. Finally, food is meant to fuel you. It's amazing how many chronic diseases (type 2 diabetes, cancers, even alzheimers) have been linked to lifestyle and diet. By giving our bodies what they need, we can live long, healthy, active lives.

“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” -Hippocrates

Jul 26, 2012

Rainbow Taco Salad


My family decided to order out from a certain Italian chain restaurant that has a frightening lack of veggies on its menu. I wasn't in the mood for white pasta and cheese covered in cheese tonight, so while they were calling in their order...waiiiiting to go pick it up....driiiiiving to go get their food... and driiiiiiiving back (Me? Have a flair for the dramatic? Of course not!), I whipped this up with enough time left over to post this! Shazam!
By "salad" I really mean "too much taco filling in too little tortilla"... which is how my tacos usually end up anyway. I'd just rather eat more of the good stuff with a fork than another tortilla. I spill less that way, too!
I've already talked about phytochemicals and the importance of eating a variety of colors as well as the glycemic index of foods and how whole foods have a lower glycemic index than processed foods *cough* pasta *cough*. This salad incorporates veggies of every color: red, orange, yellow, green, and purple/blue.
Check this video out to learn more about the benefits of eating a rainbow everyday:


What you're gonna need (for 2 salads):
  • 2 tortillas. I like the Artisan Tortillas by Mission
  • 2 Roma tomatoes, diced
  • 1-2 cups red cabbage, chopped
  • A "fistful" of cilantro, roughly chopped
  • 4-5 Tbs salsa
  • 4-5 small peppers or 1-2 large bell peppers of various colors, sliced into thin strips
  • 1/2 package (about 1/2 a pound) tofu
  • 2 Tbs olive oil
  • 1/2 cup onions, chopped
  • 2 Tbs taco seasoning
  • 1 cup cooked black beans
What you're gonna do with it:
  1. Slice tofu into 1/2" x 1" x 3" strips, lay strips flat on one side of a towel and fold over the other side and press the liquid out of the tofu. 
  2. Heat 1 Tbs olive oil in a frying pan on medium heat. Add onions and cook until translucent.
  3. Lay the tofu strips in the pan and cook until they are brown on one side, then flip them over and add taco seasoning. You can leave them in strips or break them up into smaller pieces.
  4. Remove the tofu from the pan. Add the remaining 1 Tbs of olive oil to the pan over low heat and add the pepper strips. You could also heat up the beans in the pan at this time.
  5. Vitamin C doesn't particularly like heat, so keep the heat low in the pan or choose to not cook the peppers at all.
  6. Once the beans are cooked, assemble your salad! I started with a tortilla and piled the chopped cabbage, peppers, tofu, tomatoes, beans, and cilantro on topped it with salsa. Om nom nom!

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