Vegan Walnut "Meat" Tacos in Lettuce Wraps with Cashew Cheese Sauce

Vegan Walnut "Meat" Tacos in Lettuce Wraps with Cashew Cheese Sauce

When my friend Heather recently posted in our Meat Free May Facebook group that she made some fantastic tacos using walnuts for the "meat", I will admit - I was a little skeptical.  I did some online searches and found that there are a ton on recipes for walnut "meat" filling, so I decided that if so many people have blogged about this, perhaps I should give it a try.  Not that I didn't believe Heather when she said these were amazing!  After all, her little boy has started stealing her green smoothies.  She must be creating some good stuff in her kitchen.  I digress...

I opted to make mine just a little differently, but they were still pretty similar.  I did not soak my walnuts and I used Bragg's Liquid Aminos.  If you don't know about this product, please go get a bottle and start using it right now!!  I use it almost daily whether in recipes or just on sautéed  kale.  It's loaded with amino acids and is free of preservatives and salt.

Taco filling:
1.5 cups raw walnuts
1 cup diced mushrooms
coconut oil
2T Trader Joe's taco seasoning
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1T Bragg's Liquid Aminos

Saute mushrooms in about a tablespoon of coconut oil until browned.  Remove from heat.  Add walnuts and seasonings to food processor and *pulse* until crumbly.  If you over-process, you'll end up with nut butter and that would be better for a sandwich.  When the walnuts are crumbly and the spices incorporated, add the mushrooms and stir until mixed.  Done - honestly, that's it.

I opted to serve mine in romaine boats with tomato, purple cabbage and "cashew cheeze" sauce which can be found at the bottom (under the pictures) of THIS blog post from last week.

Josh liked it too - and that's always a bonus!

Walnuts pulsed in food processor with spices

Close-up view of the walnuts

Cashew "Cheeze" Sauce

Sauteed mushrooms

Walnuts mixed with mushrooms

Simple - there's no need to have a dozen ingredients to make a taco!

And you can eat more with less guilt!

My first juice...and I used the pulp - no waste here!

Yeah Yeah!!!  ::Happy Dance::

I made my first juice today in my new juicer (thank you again to Josh for letting me keep it!)  I have to say, all things considered, it was not at all bad.  I took a cue from my good friend Dana, and I added a couple of ice cubes, which definitely added a smoothness to the juice.  I had no idea what to expect, but I think I might get the hang of this fairly quickly.  I'm looking forward to making all sorts of juicy recipes!

Today I felt like veggies.  Straight veggies.  I had already had an apple for breakfast, so I didn't want to add that for sweetness.  I opted instead for beets & carrots which have their own sugars & sweetness.  So, what could I add to beets & carrots?  Celery and Romaine looked good!

• One medium organic beet, peeled
• 3 organic carrots, greens and tops removed
• 2 large organic stalks celery with leafy greens
• large handful red Romaine lettuce (not shown)
• 4 ice cubes

This is after adding the romaine to the celery

This is after adding the beet

The final product - my beet, celery, romaine, carrot juice!!

I missed getting a picture of the pulp!!  ARGH!  For anyone who is new to juicing, like me, the pulp was all ground up and extremely dry (makes sense, right, we juiced it!)  When I took the top off of the juicer, there was this beautiful pulp leftover.  There are lots of things I could do with this pulp, rather than toss it in the garbage disposal or into the trash can.  If I was into composting, I could add it to the compost pile.  But, since I don't compost, I wanted to find another use for it.  I read that I can stir it into batters for muffins (good way to sneak fiber into my kids!) or add it to casseroles.

For dinner tonight, I wanted a grain, so I made quinoa.  While the quinoa was simmering, I took a carnival squash (it's small, like an acorn squash), sliced it in half from top to bottom and scooped out the seeds & strings.  I sprinkled the halves with dried herbs and roasted at 425 for about 25 minutes.  When the quinoa was done, I fluffed it with a fork and added the pulp from the juice, bean sprouts and Bragg's Liquid Aminos (like a healthy soy sauce).  I added this mixture to the squash halves to stuff them, topped with a sprinkle of Daiya non-dairy cheese and baked for about 10 minutes longer.  I served this with roasted Brussels sprouts that I topped with a little Wayfare cheddar "cheese" sauce.  I got my protein (quinoa), fiber (pulp), veggies - plus some extra yumminess from the Daiya & Wayfare without using dairy products.

Stuffed squash with  Brussels sprouts

Isn't it pretty?  So colorful due to the beet pulp!

Mouth watering bite - squash, quinoa, pulp and a little bit of Daiya

Another bite of fabulousness!