Nightshade-Free Taco Salad over Seasoned Cauliflower Rice

Taco night gets a rework during the elimination phase, and this version keeps every part worth keeping: the warm seasoned beef, the cool crunch, the avocado, the bright cilantro. Ginger, garlic, onion, and oregano carry the flavor that peppers and cumin usually would, over a bed of seasoned cauliflower rice standing in for the tortilla. This is dinner built around real, whole ingredients, and it tastes like it.

There is real nourishment under the flavor. Cauliflower is a source of vitamin C and folate, and the avocado brings potassium and the kind of monounsaturated fat that helps you actually absorb the fat-soluble vitamins in the meal. This is steady, whole-food eating that supports a body in repair, on a night you needed it to be fast.

This dish comes together in about 25 minutes, which matters when you are doing the daily work of cooking everything from scratch. Let the speed be a kindness to yourself. A real meal, made by your own hands, on a tired weeknight, is enough.

Ingredients

For the beef:

• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1/2 tbsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano

For the cauliflower rice:

• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 head cauliflower, riced
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 cup no-tomato ('nomato') sauce (Core swap for tomato; confirm your batch has no nightshade, paprika, or pepper). Black pepper from the source is omitted for Core.

For the salad:

• 6 cups shredded lettuce
• 4 oz sliced black olives (cured without nightshade additives)
• 1 cup sliced avocado
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• 1 lime, in wedges

Note: the source lists 1 cup sliced tomato as optional and flags it for omission on AIP. It is omitted here for Core. Ginger seasons the beef only; the source confirms its appearance in the rice step was a misprint.

Method

Warm the coconut oil in a skillet over medium heat and brown the ground beef, breaking it up as it cooks until no pink remains.

Stir the ginger, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and oregano into the beef. Once it is well seasoned, move the beef to a large bowl and set it aside.

In the same skillet, soften the chopped onion in the coconut oil for about 2 minutes, then add the garlic for another minute. Stir in the riced cauliflower with the salt and oregano and cook 2 to 3 minutes, until it loses its raw edge. Stir in the nomato sauce and cook a few minutes more, until warmed through. If you have no nomato sauce on hand, the rice is fine without it.

Build each plate with shredded lettuce, the seasoned beef, and the cauliflower rice, then scatter the olives, avocado, and cilantro over the top. Serve with lime wedges to squeeze over.

*Adapted from acleanplate.com*