POTACOS

You say potato and I say potaco!  The one great thing about a potato instead of a taco shell is that it’s inexpensive, it can hold way more filling and just one of these guys is a full meal.  Wait that’s three great things.  Just don’t try to pick them up and eat them, it’s definitely a fork situation!

Prep/Cook Time:  60-95 minutes (cook time depends on size of potatoes)

Servings: 1

Macros:  Protein 26g/Fat 9g/Good Carbs 67g

INGREDIENTS

1 large potato (or 2 smaller ones).  Can be white, yellow, sweet, purple, whatever you like.

1 cup of beans (black, pinto or green/black lentils).

1/2 cup of meat substitute (I like tempeh or tofu, Gardein ‘beef’ crumbles taste good but don’t have quite the anti-cancer benefit).

1 tsp taco seasoning (storebought or make your own)

1 red and 1 green bell pepper

1 medium onion (purple MIGHT be healthier, but either way)

1 or 2 jalapeno peppers

Cilantro to taste (optional)

ALWAYS dried or fresh parsley

ALWAYS dried or fresh garlic

ALWAYS ground flax seeds

Salsa to taste

1/4 cup non-dairy cheese (I like any of the Follow Your Heart or Violife WHITE cheeses, OR make your own HEALTHIER cashew cheese-separate recipe)

INSTRUCTIONS

1)  Preheat oven to 300.  Rinse and scrub the potatoes well.  Poke the potatoes with a fork to let steam escape while they’re cooking.  While the potatoes are still wet, rub salt on the skin to season them before they go in the oven.

2)  Bake the potatoes in the oven at 300 degrees.  For smaller potatoes, check them at 50 minutes.  For big potatoes, check them at 80-90 minutes.  Poke them with a fork to check them, it should go right through the skin.  That’ll tell you the potatoes are tender.

3)  Beans: Rinse and drain the black or pinto beans, then warm them up on the stovetop on low to medium heat.  While they’re warming, add half the taco seasoning to the beans.  I also add a dash of smoked paprika.

4)  Mock Meat: Brown the tempeh (or meat substitute) in a pan on medium heat.  I also add garlic powder, flax seed and parsley.  It isn’t necessary to add water while it’s cooking like you would with ground beef.

5)  Veggies:  If you like crisp peppers and onions keep them raw!  If not, saute them on the stovetop for 5-ish minutes with a dash of salt and pepper.

6)  Assemble: When the potatoes have cooled, cut them open (but not all the way through) and gently squeeze them to fluff the center.  Stack the beans, then the tempeh, then the veggies, then the cheese, salsa and cilantro on top!

*I put ALL KINDS OF STUFF on these!  Jalapenos, green onions, crumbled baked tortilla chips, you name it!