Gluten Free Walking Tacos

Healthy Walking Tacos: A Quick, Fun, and Customizable Meal

Have you ever tried a walking taco? It's the perfect meal for those who are short on time, love customization, and want to keep it healthy. This meal is perfect for quick lunches, lazy family dinners, or even game night!

When I was a child, my family would make tacos in individual-sized chip bags like Fritos or Doritos. This allowed us to choose our own toppings, while also eating right out of the bag, making it mess-free for our parents. It was a delightful experience!

HOW TO MAKE YOUR WALKING TACO

Assembling your walking taco is easy and fun! Just gather all your favorite taco toppings and go from there. You can even choose healthy and gluten-free options!

grass-fed ground meat

shredded lettuce

fresh organic salsa

lactose free or organic raw shredded cheese

pickled onions (with addition of jalapeños) pg. 54 in cookbook

avocado lime crema pg. 45 in cookbook

Gluten-free chips that are made in premium avocado or coconut oil like Jackson’s chips.

Want more healthy and fun Mexican inspired recipes? Check out: Mexican eggs Benedict, Paleo Crunchwrap Supreme, and Mexican Harvest Turkey Chili.

If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo to #fromtherootsblog on Instagram. We love seeing what you come up with!

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Servings: 4 Prep: 10 MIN Cook time: 10 MIN

Ingredients

To make taco meat:

• 1 lb grassfed ground meat (beef, chicken, turkey)

• 1 packet of siete foods taco seasoning

• ⅓ cup water

Toppings:

• individual chip bags (favorites: Jackson’s Chips, Siete Foods, Barnana Plaintain chips)

• shredded lettuce

• diced tomatoes or salsa

• avocado

• lime wedges

• cilantro

• cheese or queso

• sour cream or greek yogurt

• pickled onions

• avocado lime crema

Instructions:

1. To a skillet, add 1 Tbsp avocado oil over medium high heat. Add your ground meat to the skillet and break apart as it cooks. Mix in the seasonings and water once browned. Transfer the meat into a bowl and set aside until ready to assemble walking tacos.

2. Prepare the rest of the toppings of your choice!

3. When ready to assemble, take individual sized chip bags and roll down the tops. (You can also add chips to a bowl if you don’t have chip bags!) Fill the bags or bowl with taco meat and the rest of your desired toppings. Enjoy!

Massaged Kale Salad

Level up your salad game using massaged kale! 

If you are wanting to level up your salad game, then you need to hop on the massaged kale train! This leafy green is absolutely packed with vitamins like A, C, and K, fiber forward, antioxidants and a powerful anti-inflammatory food. But if you are not familiar with eating kale, it can be a tough food to swallow - no pun intended! 

Luckily for you, using the massaging technique, will have you eating and loving the vegetable in no time. 

Kale, being a cruciferous veggie, has a rough texture by nature so to help physically break down the kale to make it easier to digest, we use the massaging method. 

Massaging prior to eating is like pre-digesting the kale. All you have to do is give your kale some love by using your hands. 

We do this by massaging oil + salt + lemon juice in the kale to help break down the tough, fibrous content in the kale. The kale will visually change before your eyes into a vibrant green and will feel softer in texture. 

A bonus about using this method is that it will stay in the refrigerator for a good week even after massaging - unlike other more delicate leafy greens which tend to wilt and become soggy after chopping. Kale will keep its soft but chewy texture without becoming mushy. 

That is why, in my new cookbook: The Nourished Cookbook, I show you many ways in how you can add massaged kale into your nourish bowls! It’s a great non-starchy carbohydrate source to batch cook and to pair with so many other base meals! Here are some other massaged kale salad recipes on the blog: Fall Harvest Grain Bowl, Summer Burger Salad, Winter Pear Salad with Citrus Dijon Vinaigrette, and Butternut Squash, Kale, and White Bean Lasagna Soup.

If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo to #fromtherootsblog on Instagram. We love seeing what you come up with!

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Level up your salad game using massaged kale! 

Servings: 4-6 | Prep time: 10 min | Cook time: N/A

Ingredients 

• 4 cups or 3 handfuls of organic raw kale

• 1-2 tsp olive or avocado oil

• Juice of ½ lemon

• 1 tsp sea salt

Directions

1. Wash kale thoroughly to remove dirt and de-stem kale leaves. Transfer to a large bowl. Add in the lemon juice and salt. Lightly pour oil onto your hands to coat.

2. Using a massaging action (similar to kneading bread dough), start to tear the leaves apart and massage. Continue massaging for about 2-5 minutes or until the kale turns a vibrant green and the leaves are soft. 

Notes

• Can be used as a side dish, a salad base, or as a topping of your choice for a complete meal in a bowl. 

Chicken Sausage and Harvest Veggies Sheet Pan

Chicken Sausage + Harvest Veggies Sheet Pan - All the fall feels on one sheet pan. This healthy fall inspired sheet pan recipe includes a sweet maple tahini dressing. Meal-prep, make-ahead, and weeknight friendly. 

Sheet Pans - Without a doubt, the easiest thing to prepare if you fall into the categories of: busy, tired, and bored. Simple as that. All you have to do is cut (or use pre-cut/frozen) your veggies, slice sausage links, and place in the oven until ready to eat. While your meal is cooking, prepare a simple 3 ingredient dressing and that is it! 

To save even more time, you can prepare the veggies and dressing the day before so when you are ready to heat up the oven, simply spread the veggies and protein on the sheet pan and let it cook. Come on people, I am just spoon feeding how easy this meal is to you! Haha

By using seasonal veggies, you don’t necessarily have to worry about flavor as much as seasonal produce are at its peak! 

Meaning, less seasonings = less fuss. For this recipe, I season with little salt (because of the sausage) and use a simple everyday seasoning blend when seasoning the veggies. 

To help round this meal out by incorporating healthy fats, I created a sweet and simple maple tahini dressing that pairs perfectly with the dish! 

So either add this to your lunch meal prep rotation, weeknight dinner option, or keep it in your back pocket when you need to make something last minute - I promise you, you won’t regret it!

If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo to #fromtherootsblog on Instagram. We love seeing what you come up with!

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Chicken Sausage + Harvest Veggies Sheet Pan - All the fall feels on one sheet pan. This healthy fall inspired sheet pan recipe includes a sweet maple tahini dressing. Meal-prep, make-ahead, and weeknight friendly. 

Ingredients

• 1 red apple, cored and cubed

• 12 oz (1 package) chicken sausage, sliced

• 2-3 medium to large beets, cubed

• ½ red onion, diced into chunks

• 2 large sweet potatoes or 1 small butternut squash, cubed

• 1 head broccoli (or frozen), chopped

• ¼ cup raw pepitas

• Fav seasonings + S|P

Maple Tahini Dressing

• 2 Tbsp Tahini

• 1 tsp pure maple syrup 

• 1 tsp dijon mustard

• S+P

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or generously coat with avocado/coconut oil spray

2. Add sweet potatoes to the sheet pan and toss to coat with oil spray. 

3. Roast for 15 minutes. While sweet potatoes are roasting, prep other veggies/protein. 

4. Remove sweet potatoes from the oven and add the rest of the sheet pan ingredients. Sprinkle seasonings over ingredients, toss to coat, and spread ingredients out in a single layer. 

5. Return to the oven and continue to roast until the veggies are tender, about 25 minutes longer. 

6. While roasting, prepare dressing by simply mixing all ingredients in a small bowl until combined. May need to add 1 Tbsp increments of water to thin dressing until desired consistency. 

7. You can sprinkle pepitas over roasted veggies/protein and return to the oven for an additional 5-10 minutes or sprinkle pepitas after final cooking. Serve with dressing and enjoy! 

Ahi Poke Bowl & Stack

Ahi Poke Bowl + Stack - 2 fun versions that you can make for a lunch meal prep, refreshing light dinner, or for a crowd! 

I don’t eat out often, but when I do, I get a poke bowl...and I get ALL THE TOPPINGS! Just like a salad, poke bowls are so versatile. You can create so many fun flavor combinations all by the toppings you choose. And for this recipe, it’s the same way! 

So even though I have preferred toppings that were used for this specific meal, feel free to change them out to your liking. 

But for this recipe, I give you my classic, go-to way of creating a poke bowl that can also be transformed into a stack (if you want to be fancy!) 

Ahi tuna is my favorite protein so I created a marinade that is full of Asian flavors, a sauce that is sweet but spicy, and toppings that pair really well with those flavors. 

Since we are searing the tuna, this recipe is great as a meal prep. So if you want to make 4 servings and divide it amongst you and someone else for the next 2 days then you can. It’s also great as a light and refreshing dinner or for a crowd as people can top their bowl or stack however they would like! 

To see how I turn this into a stack version, check out our IG reel here! 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Candace | From the Roots (@fromtherootsblog)

So stop paying $10-$15 for a poke bowl and make it yourself! 

If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo to #fromtherootsblog on Instagram. We love seeing what you come up with!

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Ahi Poke Bowl + Stack - 2 fun versions that you can make for a lunch meal prep, refreshing light dinner, or for a crowd! 

Ingredients

Chili mango sauce

• 1 whole mango (chunks)

• ½ juice of 1 lime + zest

• 1-2 tsp chili garlic sauce

Ahi Tuna marinade

• 2 ahi tuna steaks (4-6 oz 1.5” thick each)

• ¼ cup water

• 2 Tbsp white miso paste

• 2 Tbsp low-sodium GF tamari 

• 1 Tbsp honey

• 1 knob fresh garlic (minced)

• 1 Tbsp sesame oil

• 1 tsp chili oil

• ½ juice of 1 lime + zest

Bowl/Stack components (makes 4 servings)

• 1-2 cups sprouted brown rice 

• 2 cups edamame

• Seared ahi tuna steaks

• And top with your favorite poke bowl garnishes like mango chili sauce, English cucumbers, shaved carrots, jalapeno slices, nori sheets, green onion, pickled ginger, avocado slices, and microgreens

Directions

1. Prepare the marinade by combining all ingredients in a shallow bowl or Ziploc bag and marinate in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. 

2. While your steaks are marinating, prepare the chili mango sauce by simply adding all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth and creamy.

3. Prepare the rest of the ingredients by steaming your rice and chopping veggies. 

4. Sear tuna steaks either on the grill or in a skillet on medium-high heat (4-6 minutes per side). 

5. To make ahi poke stack version: You can use a 4” springform pan or use a greased 1 cup to create your stack mold. Layer starting with brown rice first and ahi tuna at the end if using a springform pan or the opposite sequence if using a measuring cup. 

6. To make ahi poke bowl version: Add all components and garnishes in a bowl and serve! 

7. Divide all ingredients into ¼ in order to make 4 servings! 

Crispy Smashed Potatoes with Garlic Pesto

Crispy Smashed Potatoes with Garlic Pesto - The perfect go-to side dish to make for dinner or as a carb source for your weekly lunch meal prep.

I have been making smashed potatoes for years! Why? Because they are just so simple to make! 

Quick little breakdown on how to prepare these bad boys: 

• Boil the potatoes until they are fork-tender. 

• Make a creamy garlicky pesto that takes less than 5 minutes to make.

• Smash those bad boys with a glass cup, palm of your hand, or a saucepan.

• Drizzle with oil and roast until golden brown and crispy. 

• Spoon that delicious sauce over the potatoes and serve!

Lately, I have been digging planked salmon so for dinner this week, I paired smashed potatoes with planked salmon and a paleo caesar salad using Primal Kitchen Caesar Dressing and added fun uncured bacon bits from Epic. This would also pair well with baked hot chicken, pecan crusted spiced salmon and turkey meatballs. 

If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo to #fromtherootsblog on Instagram. We love seeing what you come up with! 

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Crispy Smashed Potatoes with Garlic Pesto - The perfect go-to side dish to make for dinner or as a carb source for your weekly lunch meal prep.

Ingredients

Smashed Potatoes

• 1 lb (16 oz) baby potatoes

• 1-2 Tbsp olive or avocado oil

• Sea salt & black pepper

Garlic Pesto

• 2 cups packed fresh organic basil

• ¼ cup nutritional yeast

• 5-8 raw almonds

• 3 large cloves garlic (peeled)

• ⅓ cup olive or avocado oil (oil-free version - water or veggie stock)

• Healthy pinch each sea salt and black pepper

Directions

1. Add rinsed potatoes to a large pot with water until potatoes are fully submerged. Bring water to a boil over medium-high heat and cook for 15-20 minutes. A knife should be able to slide in and out easily. 

2. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper. 

3. While the potatoes are cooking, prepare the pesto mixture by adding almonds and garlic to a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add basil, nutritional yeast, salt and pepper and turn the setting on low. As the processor is on low, pour the oil through the feed tube gradually. Scrape down the sides and add more if necessary to achieve the desired sauce consistency. (Oil-free version* add water or veggie stock gradually until desired consistency)

4. Taste and adjust taste if necessary, adding more nutritional yeast for that cheesy flavor, salt for overall flavor, garlic for that “bite” or almonds for a nuttier flavor. Transfer to a small serving dish and set aside. 

5. When the potatoes are soft and tender, place on the baking sheet and smash them down with the bottom of a saucepan, glass cup, or the palm of your hand. For any larger potatoes, cut in half and then smash. 

6. Drizzle smashed potatoes with oil and generously season with salt and pepper. Roast for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and crispy. 

7. Spoon the pesto mixture over the potatoes and garnish with additional oil, salt and pepper if desired.