Tacos. Love them.

So taco night has always been big in our household. Nothing satisfies the hunger, or cooks up as quickly, quite like tacos. So I wondered...would a veggie version be as good? The answer that made me oh-so-happy was a resounding, "Hell, yes!" We made them exactly the same except we used this vegan product called Smart Ground by Lightlife. I recall my friend Holli -- hope you don't mind my borrowing your idea, Holli! -- had mentioned in one of her blogs last year that she made it but, being a vegetarian who did not like the consistency/smell/taste of meat, couldn't bring herself to eat it with her husband, it was so much like actual meat.

 

So I thought this might be a fun thing to try for us. It worked great and tasted exactly like hamburger, except there were no pools of orange-colored oil on top of the "meat." I fried up some onions in olive oil, added the spices, and then added the Smart Ground. Super easy. We then put rice, lettuce, and tomatoes and hot sauce in them and I added avocado, and vegan sour cream (Follow-you-heart brand) to mine. I thought it tasted even BETTER than the old tacos I loved. Ry thought is was "pretty good" but wasn't raving and giggling the way I was. But that's because he's not keen on avocados like I am. Avocados, with a touch of salt, are just the fruit of the gods. Next time, I'll make a guacamole topping instead of just avos, as he likes guacamole.

While vegan processed foods shouldn't be viewed as "health foods" exactly -- nothing comes close to eating whole foods -- it's a lot better than the alternative that's full of antibiotics and fat. While I didn't make this new choice in plant-based foods for health reasons -- it was all about the animals -- it certainly is a sweet and huge side benefit that I didn't quite expect.

So -- vegan tacos? Amazing. Try them!

P.S. The picture above is actually one I got from a google image search for "vegan tacos." I have to get better at using our own camera ...