I have never been a mince fan … and my family and friends harass me constantly for it. ‘ But it’s just so versatile’, ‘what if I just grind up a steak for you?’. There’s just something about the texture that makes me feel all squeamish.

Anyway, it turns out that I have a husband and children who adore Mexican food … hello minced meat.

Since our diet is already restricted, I figured that I needed to try and learn to eat mince so that there were some more options open to us – I find I can manage it when it is in a largely veggie based meal like this one, or in our bolognese.

Tacos are are MASSIVE WINNER in our house so we hope you enjoy them too!

**If you are after a vegan option for your tacos – check out below the main recipe for how we make the switch.

• 400g mince (beef, turkey or chicken)
• 2 tbsp garlic infused olive oil
• 1 finely diced brown onion
• 1 400g tin brown lentils, drained and rinsed
• Taco Shells
• 1 large jar Mexican salsa
• 2 tbsp Mexican Seasoning
• 1 fist sized piece of pumpkin
• Toppings – spinach, avocado, cucumber, tomatoes, corn, cheese etc etc

Heat the oil in a large frying pan and cook the onion til soft. Add the mince and brown.

Then add the seasoning and salsa. Then add the lentils and mix well.

Finely grate the pumpkin.

Add the pumpkin to the meat mix and stir to combine.

Bring to a gentle simmer for about 20 mins until the meat is cooked and the veggies are soft..

Heat Taco shells according to pack directions and while they are heating, prepare all salad ingredients.

Serve with mince mix at the bottom, salad next and sprinkle of the cheese your diet allows. It’s a great ‘make-your-own’ meal for the kids too.

**The Vegan option:

Omit the minced meat and add in 300g of finely diced firm mushrooms, use them at the same place in the recipe as the mince goes.

Then when you are adding in the lentils, add 1 more additional tin of drained and rinsed lentils.

Make sure you use a suitable plant based cheese – and that’s it! Super easy and very tasty!

This recipe makes enough meat mix for 2 family dinners for us – we freeze the other half in an air tight container – perfect for when you neeeeed tacos next time 😉

Extra Tip: If you need or want to go grain free – then using large lettuce leaves as your taco cup works really well, and you still get a lovely crunch (and messy hands!). This is also a good option if you are soy free as I’ve yet to find pre made shells without soy.

Enjoy 🙂