My family loves taco night. We set out lots of low oxalate fixings, so each person can make their own low oxalate tacos or taco salad. The picture on the right features last Friday’s taco night fixings: shredded Mexican cheese, white corn tortillas, low oxalate taco meat, corn, kidney beans (medium oxalate), Big Beef tomatoes, and Romaine lettuce. Some days we use black-eyed peas instead of the kidney beans or Pink Girl tomatoes instead of Big Beef. Other days we add fresh cilantro, sour cream, plain yogurt, green chilies or avocado. Low oxalate tacos are always a hit at my house because the boys love serving themselves. It’s easy to please the non-low oxalate dieters, too, by adding a shaker of chili powder or cumin to the table for those who want more seasoning. Serving low oxalate tacos as a buffet also helps family members who follow Paleo, dairy-free, GAPS or GFCF diets.
My low oxalate tacos have gone through many variations in the past few years. The following recipe is our favorite because it has the most flavor per mg. of oxalate. You may also want to add oregano, cayenne pepper, cilantro, or more garlic. See the variations below for ideas about how to personalize your low oxalate tacos.
Low Oxalate Tacos
1 pound ground beef
1/4 cup onion, finely chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup tomato juice
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1/8 – 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper {UK readers use this link}
8 white corn tortillas
2 – 3 tablespoons lard, bacon fat or olive oil
8 ounces (1 cup) shredded cheese
2 cups shredded Romaine lettuce
1 cup Big Beef tomatoes, diced
Brown the ground beef over medium heat, using a spatula to separate the meat into small pieces. While the meat is still a little pink, pour off the excess fat. (I pour the fat into a second skillet to use with the tortillas later). Add the onions and garlic and continue to brown for another 3-5 minutes until the onions are translucent or slightly browned. Add the tomato juice, chili powder, salt and white pepper and mix well. Cover the skillet with a lid and simmer for 10-15 minutes to let the flavors meld. You may remove the lid for the last few minutes of cooking if you want a drier taco meat.
While the meat is cooking, pour 1 tablespoon of the oil or fat into a second skillet. Heat the corn tortillas one at a time for about 10 seconds per side, adding more fat as necessary. The tortillas can be stacked on a plate or cookie sheet and rewarmed in the microwave or kept warm in the oven. When the taco meat is finished, put 2 ounces of meat (1/8 of the recipe) in the middle of each tortilla. Add one ounce of shredded cheese, 1/4 cup shredded lettuce and 1/8 cup tomatoes to each taco. Fold the tortilla in half and eat like a soft taco (or use a fork . . .).
Makes 8 tacos.
Low Oxalate Info: All the ingredients in low oxalate tacos are low oxalate except the chili powder (McCormick chili powder has 8.1 mg. oxalate per teaspoon {UK readers use this link}). Low oxalate taco meat has about 2.3 mg. oxalate per 2 ounce serving (1/8 of the recipe). Low oxalate tacos prepared according to my recipe have about 6.8 mg. oxalate per taco as long as you use a low oxalate tomato variety such as Big Beef or Pink Girl (early girl, German Johnston, brandy wine and yellow pear all have less than 6 mg. oxalate per half cup and also work well in this recipe with only a slight increase in the oxalate level). If you use any other variety of tomato or an unknown variety, assume your low oxalate tacos have closer to 8.3 mg. oxalate per taco (based on an average of 10 mg. per half cup of tomatoes).
Updated July 2013: Please see the comments in the comment section below for a discussion of white versus yellow corn tortillas, how and when they were tested and oxalate values of each.
Variations:
Add 1/2 teaspoon of dried oregano, basil or cilantro (soak in tomato juice or water for 15 minutes before using to bring out the flavor of the dried herbs).
Add 2 – 4 tablespoons of fresh cilantro.
Add 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper.
Add chopped avocado, sour cream, plain yogurt, green chilies or black-eyed peas.
Use Cilantro Lime Slaw instead of lettuce (YUM!).
Substitute water for the tomato juice (see note).
Serve as a taco salad with strips of corn tortillas or tortilla chips (medium oxalate) on top.
Note: Leaving the tomato juice out only reduces the oxalate by about 0.3 mg. per taco, so I strongly suggest you use it unless you can’t tolerate tomato juice or just don’t have it on hand. I find it really adds a lot of flavor, especially if you plan to use the meat in a taco salad.
Menu Ideas:
Serve with Santa Fe Bean Salad or Cilantro Lime Slaw.
Other diets: Low oxalate tacos may also be appropriate for gluten-free diets. Low oxalate taco meat may be appropriate for GFCF, Paleo, GAPS and dairy-free diets.
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