We eat a lot of stir fry in our house - it's hard not to love the simple staple because it's such an easy option and there are so many different ways you can build a healthy meal around it.
These soft tacos are loaded with stir fry veggies and you can get even more vitamin and mineral content by topping it off with fresh greens & vegetables of your choice (spinach & tomatoes in this case). Eat with a bowl of slow cooked beans on the side and you've built yourself a very tasty, filling, and nutritious lunch or dinner.
Actually, a meal like this even makes a great breakfast with some slight variations. Recently we went to Austin to visit family and I was very pleased to find that they are happy to roll up all kinds of different delicious foods in tortillas for pretty much every meal, if you like - we ate "breakfast burritos", "lunch burritos" and "dinner burritos" for several days in a row and I am not complaining. I was in my element!
The best part about a meal like this is that you can adjust the ingredients to fit even the pickiest of eaters. A lot of times, when we are cooking for a big group of friends/family, we will end up making a "build your own" burrito set up. It's as easy as preparing a handful of fresh & cooked veggies, meat, and a few fresh toppings. Then you let everyone self serve & build their own burrito, taco, or salad. It's not any more work than building one giant dish or meal for everyone, and as a bonus, each person gets exactly what they want on their plate. It also makes for delicious leftovers that lend themselves to a wide variety of other meals. It's great because you can cater to gluten free, dairy free, vegan/vegetarian/omnivore needs in one preparation.
Below I've provided a very loose "recipe" of sorts that tells you how we made what you see in the image above, but also how to tweak the recipe so that you can put an entirely different spin on it - so it never grows boring - or, to meet your dietary preferences (vegan, omnivore, dairy free or not, etc).
Ingredients
- Stir fry veggies: For the soft taco in the picture above, we have used potatoes, mushrooms, carrots, corn. The options here are literally limitless; basically, pick out 3-5 of your favorite veggies, and cook in a small amount of cooking oil (olive oil, avocado oil, etc) on low-medium heat until desired consistency
- Spices: Here we have used garlic, cumin, salt and pepper, but again, the options are limitless
- Whole grain tortilla/wrap - look for simple, minimally processed options
- Slow cooker beans - Pinto, black, kidney, garbanzo, navy - we love them all. You can also use canned beans but we highly recommend investing in a slow cooker (they're super cheap) because in the long run it saves you a lot of money & you are able to control the sodium content and ingredients in the beans.
- Fresh toppings: here we have used tomatoes, spinach and a scoop of plain, full fat Greek yogurt in place of sour cream. Again, the options are limitless. Guacamole, avocado, cilantro, onions, jalapeños, mango salsa, a sprinkle of your favorite cheese - just a few options that all taste great.
Extra/Alternative/Suggested ingredients and toppings
- Meat - bump up the protein and calorie content by adding a serving of your favorite meat
- Eggs - another way to bump up the protein content, scrambled eggs are a delicious addition
- Avocado or guacamole - the ONLY reason there isn't avocado on the plate above is because we were out of them that day! Avocado are our favorite.
- Salsa or hot sauce - just check the ingredients list; go for one that has as simple ingredients and no/as few fillers as possible
- Cheese - there are many different types of cheeses that taste great on a dish like this, though technically it's so flavorful, you wont even miss it if you decide to go without.
Have you ever tried the "build your own" plate idea we mentioned above? It works really well for feeding large groups, it's a healthy, flavorful and delicious way to keep everyone happy.
Let us know what you think about this recipe and what you might like to see next!