Whole Foods Fast: Sugar Free Taco Seasoning Mix

Everyone is happy on Taco Day in our house.  I am happy because it is a healthy meal with little prep work or clean-up work that can be made ahead that our kids love to eat.  The kids are happy because they love the taste and have fun making their own tacos.



Sugar Free Taco Seasoning Mix
Adapted from Family Feasts for $75 per week

1/2 cup of dried minced onion
1/4 cup sweet paprika
1/4 cup organic corn starch
3 Tablespoons Chili Powder
2 Tablespoons of Salt
2 Tablespoons of Garlic Powder
1 Tablespoon of Ground Cumin
1 Tablespoon of Dried Oregano

1. ) Place all the ingredients in a pint-size canning jar.  Put lid on and shake to combine.  Use 1/4 cup for every 1 pound of ground beef.

Notes:
* You will thank yourself over-and-over again if you cook 4-6 pounds of ground beef and use what you need the first day and put the rest in freezable Pyrex containers (I find the 3 1/2 cup rectangular size is the perfect serving size for our family of four)
* This is my go-to meal when we get a last minute invite out on an afternoon when I haven't made dinner yet, but I want to eat at our usual 5/6PM time.  I pop one of these out of the freezer, take the meat out of the pyrex, put it in my slow cooker on high, chop up some tomatoes, shred the cheese and go have some fun.  Then when we get back home a dinner everyone likes is waiting for us.
* If you want to have this every week, alternate between tacos and taco salads every week.  That way you won't feel like you are serving the same thing every week.

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Giving Up Sugar for a Month

Photo Credit: Uwe Hermann

On Sunday I will start a month-long journey of giving up sugar.  Why?  I have become lazy over the past year and let sugar creep back into my diet.  Too much into my diet!  I know friends and family already feel like I don't eat that much, but I do.  And I can feel it.  I don't like the way my body craves it for a pick-up in the afternoon or the example I set for my kids when they see me eat it.  I don't like the few pounds I have gained because of it.  So the time has come to give it up for another month.

This isn't the first time I have given up sugar, I did it back in November and it was a good experience.  So I will do it again, but with a difference.  This time I would love to have people join me on the journey.  So I would like to invite others who would like to do this with me to guest post on the blog about your experience.  Why are you giving up sugar?  How is it going?  Why do you like it?  Why don't you like it?  How do your family and friends feel about your decision?  

Is anyone with me?

I think giving up sugar could look different for different people depending where you are at right now.  Maybe some people do it for a week, maybe two.  Maybe you give up all sweets, but don't worry about the sugar in your pasta sauce or hot dogs.  

To me a Giving Up Sugar in May means: 

• * No sugar.  
• * No corn syrup.  
• * No sweeteners, fake or real, of any kind in the ingredients list of anything I buy.  
• * Naturally occurring fruit and milk sugars are OK - but I will limit fruit to no more than 1 per day.

So if you are interested in doing this with me, send me an email at j m a g r o @ g m a i l . c o m (remove the spaces) and let me know.