Baby bella Taco Salad

Apparently fall is the best season for mushrooms.

I honestly don't eat mushrooms unless they are mixed in with something else -> gravy, salad, sandwich. 

They came to be on my radar when I started the final stage of my healthy gut journey. My functional medicine practitioner has me doing a Liver and Gallbladder detox to flush out any toxins that may have been present as a result of my bacteria imbalance. So, for five days (and I'm on day 3 as I write this) I will start my day with a very terrible detox beverage, take some supplements and only eat fruit and veggies (non-root). 

Back to the mushrooms :) I read somewhere that mushrooms can be used as a meat substitute, so I got a crazy idea to use them to make a taco salad. I bought an 8oz package of baby bellas at Whole Foods and used my mini chopper (like this one on Amazon) to mince them up. Once they were minced, I used them just like I would minced meat.

Baby Bella Taco Salad:

8oz minced baby bella mushrooms

Taco Seasoning:

4 1/2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp seasoning salt

1/2 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp garlic salt

1 tsp dried minced onion

1/2 tsp beef bouillon powder

Directions:

I sautéed the mushrooms in taco seasoning and approximately 1/4 cup water for about 10 minutes. I suggest adding water in small amounts so that your minced mushrooms aren't soggy (learned the hard way).

Build your bowl - I use about 3+ cups lettuce (romaine and leafy green) and top with baby corn, Black beans (usually), salsa and avocado.

This is a great plant-based option for vegetarians who like taco salads! I'm not vegetarian, but I did a plant-based month with the FASTer Way VIP community and have kept some favorite recipes in my rotation.

Low FODMAP Raspberry Chia Jam

I made my own chia jam and it was super easy!

I’m working on an imbalance of gut bacteria and just starting the low FODMAP diet which basically means I’m eating, and not eating, certain foods to starve the bacteria that have overgrown in my gut.

If it seems crazy that you can have a gut health issue while eating healthy (and working as a FASTer Way coach), I think so too!

The (insert sarcasm) "fun" part is that even healthy foods, or just too much of some, feed the overgrowth bacteria! That means, foods such as garlic, onion, agave and honey make a lot of my go-to convenient items off limits for awhile.

I love pairing my breakFAST smoothie with my version of the PB&J: plain rice cakes with almond butter and chia jam. My store bought chia jam has agave as an ingredient making it a no-go.

No worries, I just Googled recipes (there are a ton by the way). I combined two recipes and used the FODMAP app from Monash University to make sure I wasn't using too much of any ingredient.

My recipe:

2 oz raspberries

2 tbsp pure maple syrup

2 tbsp chia seeds

1/4 cup water

Blend all ingredients together in blender for 1 minute. Pour mixture into sauce pan and heat for about 10 minutes on medium. Place in airtight jar and let cool in fridge.

It was soooo good!

If you’ve done a low FODMAP diet and have recipes you love, please share them with me!!