Taco Pasta Salad

If you’ve been following along with me on instagram and ig stories lately, you probably know I’m doing something called the Bean Protocol. My friend introduced me to the concept a couple months back when I was telling her about my continued skin issues that I’ve never been able to get control of. As soon as I found out about it, I threw everything I knew about the paleo diet out the window and I jumped into the bean world. And so far, SO GOOD! I’ve been following the protocol for about a month and a half and my skin continues to clear up every day. It’s been quite eye opening, exciting, and life changing! But when following the bean protocol, there are some rules that you have to follow to make sure you get the most out of the protocol. And this recipe falls within those guidelines so I wanted to share it here in case anyone else was trying the protocol!

When following the Bean Protocol, you gotta cut a few things out –

1. No caffeine
2. No sugar
3. No alcohol
4. No fatty meats
5. And no fat when you’re eating the beans

Cutting out caffeine sucked major ass, I could care less about the sugar or alcohol, but the no fat with beans portion was a bit more challenging. I mean….fat is flavor. We use fat for dressings on salad, for sauces in dishes, it’s in pasta sauce, curry sauce, peanut sauce, and really any other sauce that makes a dish flavorful and interesting. So I’ve had to be a bit more creative. And that’s where this pasta salad came from! I use lentil pasta for beans PLUS black beans, as well. Double the beans, baby!! And the sauce comes from a mixture of green chile and salsa! You will see 1 tablespoon of olive oil in this dish, but I was told by the amazing Unique Hammond to not worry about the small amount of fat that’s going a huge dish, so I don’t worry about it!

Most of the time, my meals are simply rice, beans, and some sort of protein. But this dish is a nice change of pace and it makes the protocol just a tad more fun! Something I’ve been asked a couple times over social media is if I’m nervous about the extra carbs and I’ll simply answer that will a – fuck no. One of the best parts about not counting calories or macros or carbs is that you really have no clue of the amount of carbs or fat or even protein that you’re taking in. And because of that, I can simply just live, eat, and heal. I’m not worried about excess carbs because I’m more worried about healing whatever is going on in my body to cause these breakouts that I’ve continually had for 20 years. The bean protocol has helped people with acne, hormonal imbalances, digestive issues, Crohn’s disease, different autoimmune diseases, and more…all this to say – healing is more important than carbs. I’m going to share a full blog post of this experience in the future once I get through a few months, but you will begin to see some bean recipes here (yes, I know beans aren’t paleo, thanks for the reminder) as I continue on this journey! Just remember – if beans don’t work for you and you want to stick with a paleo diet, don’t add beans. Easy as that!

Taco Pasta Salad

★★★★★

5 from 11 reviews

• Author: juli
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 20 minutes
• Total Time: 35 minutes
• Yield: 6-8 1x

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 box lentil pasta (or brown rice, etc.)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 yellow onion, diced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1lb lean ground beef
• 2 tablespoons taco seasonings
• 1 orange bell pepper, diced
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 romaine heart, thinly sliced
• 1 14oz can of black beans, drained
• 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
• 1/4 cup mild green chile sauce
• 1/4 cup mild salsa
• hefty pinch of coarse salt
• black pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Cook pasta according to the brand directions. Drain then rinse with cool water to cool then noodles down and keep them from sticking.
2. While the pasta cooks, place a large pan over medium heat. Add the olive oil with onions and bell pepper. Saute for about 5 minutes, sprinkle with salt, then add the ground beef. Cook the ground beef until almost no pink remains, then add the taco seasonings and mix until combined in the beef.
3. While the ground beef cooks, chop all the veggies and place them in a large mixing bowl with the black beans and cilantro. Drain the pasta and add it to the bowl, then add the ground beef mixture to the bowl. Pour green chile, salsa, salt and pepper into the bowl then mix everything together until completely combined. You can serve this right away with the beef still slightly warm or chill in the fridge for an hour before serving – it’s great either way! And it just gets better with time!

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