Before Will and I went vegan, we ate a lot of crap! Some of the crap we loved to eat was mexican fast food. I remember buying the salads in tortilla bowls thinking it was a healthy choice, but in reality the bowl was deep fried, the salad was drenched in sour cream, shredded cheese, and guacamole, and all the vegetables had next to no nutrients in them. Now, even though that dish was so, so bad for us, the taste I will admit was very addicting! I wanted to try and make my own healthy vegan version of this so we can still enjoy a mexican salad without all the junk!
Ingredients:
4 whole wheat soft-shell tortillas
1/2 head romaine lettuce, chopped into bite size pieces
2 tbs cilantro, minced
1 red pepper, chopped into 1″ pieced
1 tomato, chopped into 1″ pieces
1 cup whole corn kernels, cooked
1 cup red kidney beans, cooked
1 beet, sliced using potato peeler
6 wooden skewers
balsamic dressing, see “Bean Burger with Mango Salsa & Caesar Salad” for recipe
To make the tortilla bowls, I took 6 wooden skewers and broke them all in half. Next, I pinched a corner at a time and put 1 skewer through each 2 pinches I made until I had a bowl shape. Once all 4 were done, I put them in a preheated oven for about 5 minutes, or until the tortillas are stiff to the touch. Remove from oven and let cool, then remove skewers.
To make the beet crisps, take a whole beet, cut off the ends, and peel it. Then, using a potato peeler, slice the whole beet so you have paper thin circular slices. In a bowl, add 1 tbs of olive oil and toss the beets until they are evenly covered. Lay them on a baking sheet making sure not to overlap, and cook in your preheated oven for about 5 minutes, or until the outsides are coming to a nice crisp. Remove from oven, let cool on baking sheet until ready to use.
To assemble your salad bowls, fill the tortilla bowls with lettuce, top with tomato, pepper, corn, and beans. Garnish with beet crisps and cilantro, and drizzle balsamic dressing on top.
theveganlovers 