Taco Vegetarian Lettuce Wraps

Between Thai and Mexican food, I’m not sure which wins my ultimate favorite award, but they’re both consistent front runners when it comes to the favorite cuisine race. The actual winner changes from day to day with tacos taking the lead spot last Saturday in the form of these tasty taco vegetarian lettuce wraps.

As with many of my recipes, the idea for these tacos came from rummaging through the fridge, trying to figure out what to make for dinner. I had peppers, mushrooms, cilantro, and avocados that all had to go. I absent mindedly started adding tortillas to the grocery shopping list, but then I stopped myself. Although, unarguably delicious, tortillas don’t really add much nutritional value and are loaded with empty calories. Why not replace them with a veggie?

Ingredients

• ½ cup quinoa
• 3 ears of corn, shucked (or 1 cup frozen)
• 1 15 oz. can black beans
• ½ Tbsp. coconut oil
• 2 bell peppers, seeded and chopped
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1½ tsp. minced garlic
• ½ lb. mushrooms, washed and sliced
• ½ tsp. salt
• 1½ tsp. chili powder
• ½ tsp. paprika
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• ¼ cup chopped cilantro, split in half
• 1 cup finely shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 head of lettuce (I like butter leaf) washed and leaves separated
• 1 avocado, diced

Instructions

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil over high heat. Rinse quinoa and add to pot. After quinoa has boiled for about 5 minutes, add corn cobs. Continue boiling for another 10 minutes until both quinoa and corn are fully cooked (if using frozen corn just hold off and add it with the peppers).
2. Remove from heat and pull out corn cobs. Drain quinoa and set aside. Use a sharp knife to scrape the corn kernels off of the corn cobs.
3. While quinoa and corn cook, melt coconut oil over high heat. Add onions and bell pepper and sauté until peppers start to brown.
4. Add garlic and mushrooms and continue cooking until veggies are cooked and lightly browned.
5. Stir in salt, chili powder, paprika, cumin, half of the chopped cilantro, and ¼ cup salsa. Add quinoa and black beans. Stir and remove from heat.
6. Serve veggie filling, grated cheese, additional salsa, cilantro, and avocado to lettuce wraps.