Tacos Are Your Friends: 3 Quick Recipes

Tacos have always been a staple in our household. We usually have hot salsa, cilantro, and limes at the ready for taco night. Shredded lettuce, sour cream, chopped onions, shredded cheese, and avocado are other great toppings to consider, depending on what your sodium allowance is for the meal.

We ALWAYS eat soft tacos on corn tortillas, which don't have any sodium (at least, the brand we use doesn't add salt to the tortillas - it's always good to double check though!). For corn tortillas, an oven warmer is key; I have a ceramic one which I load up with tortillas and put in the oven before turning it on. After about 20-30 minutes (depending on how many tortillas I'm heating), they're ready to go - and usually, so are my taco fillings!

#1 - Potato Tacos - a zero-mg filling.
Potatoes have no sodium, so you can really go for broke here. I used Penzey's no-salt-added Adobo seasoning liberally while sauteing diced potatoes in extra-virgin olive oil. Once the potatoes are soft, you can load them into warm corn tortillas and top as you like. On days where you've spent your sodium allowance otherwise, these are great to make because they honestly taste delicious on their own (that's right - without cheese or salsa!). Tyler LOVES these with just a little bit of BBQ sauce; I like to add salsa, avocado and just a little bit of pepper jack cheese.

#2 - Pinto Bean Tacos - the under-100 club filling. 
I've been using Eden Organics No Salt Added Pinto Beans, which have 15 mg per serving (53 mg per can). All I do is rinse and drain them, then saute in....you guessed it, extra-virgin olive oil with a lot of Penzey's Adobo seasoning! These are especially great with avocado.

Tempeh Tacos are our faves!

#3: Tempeh Tacos - the flavorful splurge.
These require a little planning ahead, but are quick to make once the initial prep of marinating the tempeh is done - I usually prep the tempeh on the weekend so it has a few days to marinate in time for Taco Tuesday.

Ingredients:
1 package tempeh - chopped into strips (we use Lightlife, which has 25 mg sodium total)
1-1/2 c. apple cider vinegar (0mg)
1/2 c. water
1 stick Kombu (180 mg)
Honey to taste
2-3 T. chili powder (make sure yours is salt-free)

To make marinade, add apple cider vinegar, water, kombu, and a squirt of honey (you don't need very much) to a pot and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

Place tempeh strips in a baking dish which has a cover (or use foil). Pour marinade over tempeh and cover. Allow to marinate in the fridge for at least 12 hours (I usually let it marinate for a few days).

When you're ready to make your tacos, drain tempeh and saute in olive oil with chili powder. I like to break the tempeh strips up into smaller pieces, but you could leave them as-is if you so choose.

Once tempeh is heated through, you're ready to assemble your tacos! We like these with salsa, cheese and fresh-squeezed lime.

This makes about 6-8 tacos, for a grand total of 205mg for the tempeh filling (split 6 ways, that's about 35mg per taco). You can dress your tacos with your favorite cheese, salsa or other condiments based on your sodium allowance for your meal - but trust me, they don't need much. Just a bit of cilantro and a little hot salsa can satisfy you without breaking the (sodium) bank.