I Could Eat Mexican Food Everyday

So one of the things I was delighted to find out when I first started eating clean back in September, is that there are lots of options when it comes to Mexican food. Of course, no flour tortillas, cheese or sour cream, (and you have to watch some sauces for sugar) but most other things are fine. Mexican cooking uses lots of different vegetables and spices so the flavors are never boring. I love cheese and prefer to order everything with extra cheese, but done right, I don't even miss it. Corn tortillas are fine to eat, so street tacos with chicken or a lean beef are tasty and easy and pretty readily available if you have to eat out. Even Taco Bell and Del Taco have versions of these which aren't terrible. If you need some crunch a tostada is a good option and fresh salsa is great for you, so eat it up. I love it as a salad dressing.

One of my favorite things that I have found on the menus of some Mexican places is the burrito bowl. The idea is it's a burrito less the tortilla - so it has to go in a bowl. I love getting these at Don Quixote's and Chipotle and have been craving them pretty bad the past few days. To save on my budget and sanity (my kids always insist on ordering at restaurants, but rarely eat and it kills me to throw money away like that), I decided last night that rather than heading over to one of those places, I would make burrito bowls at home. Here is what I included (you really just throw it into a bowl until it looks okay, so I am omitting quantities as you can do it however you want):

Beans (I used both vegetarian refried and whole black)
Rice (Brown - Trader Joe's has awesome frozen brown rice that takes 3 mins in the microwave)
Skirt Steak (seasoned with chili powder, cumin, garlic salt then grilled)
Salsa Fresca
Tomatoes
Green Onions
Guacamole
Shredded Cabbage (sounds weird but adds a great texture)
Chopped Black Olives
Grilled Onions
Grilled Peppers (orange or red bells and jalapenos)

It was hard to fit everything into one bowl, but I thought using two or a big serving dish would be a little over the top so I made it work. It was absolutely delicious. Better than in the restaurants and guess what? I have left-overs. My girls are less adventuresome when it comes to eating, but they enjoyed the steak and rice and some fruit salad I had in the fridge.

I've got a meeting to go to tonight, so I'm thinking quick leftovers sound really good again.

Tomorrow I'll talk about my love/hate relationship with cooking and how I'm keeping the upper hand in that department.