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 –
- No caffeine
- No sugar
- No alcohol
- No fatty meats
- 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
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 6-8 1x
Ingredients
- 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
- Cook pasta according to the brand directions. Drain then rinse with cool water to cool then noodles down and keep them from sticking.
- 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.
- 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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You May Also Like:
Tomato & Watermelon Panzanella Salad
Watermelon & Fennel Mint Salad
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Is the red pepper meant to be cooked and the orange pepper stays raw? I’ve been saving the box of lentil pasta for you to post a recipe using it. My day has finally come. Thank you!!
correct!
This was delicious and so easy to make. I love taco flavors and pasta salads so this was a perfect combination and so fresh tasting for summer!
so glad you liked it laura!
Hi, I may be mistaken but aren’t you supposed to eliminate fat with the beans. Doesn’t the beef count as fat?
you’ll want your meats to be lean, so just make sure it’s a lean ground beef
Would lupini beans count on the protocol?
i think so!
Another question, do I HAVE to give up caffeine on the protocol? I would be doing it for acne but it’s not bad, mostly on chin and postpartum hormones.
that’s completely up to you. caffeine can cause hormonal issues, which can hinder your progress on the bean protocol
Made this today and it was perfect! Just started the bean protocol on Sunday thanks to you and I’m excited to try your bean protocol recipes. Making the lentil tabbouleh tonight!
yay!! hope you like the recipes!
So I tend to not eat beans because of all of the anti-nutrients they contain. My question is, do you think maybe cutting out sugar, alcohol and caffeine has more to do with your healing than the beans? Like when people go on a carnivore diet, they cut those things out, except maybe caffeine, and heal the same sort of issues. If it’s a fiber thing, why not just eat more greens? Maybe I am missing something, but I know beans are VERY high on the anti-nutrient list and wonder if this might cause more damage long term. Just some thoughtful questions and my own two-cents. Glad whatever you’re doing is working for you, though!
Well I never drank much alcohol in the first place (handful of drinks per year), i don’t eat much sugar in the first place, so caffeine was the only prevalent thing. cutting out all of these definitely play a part in the big picture, but i’ve cut out all of those things in the past and never had success with getting rid of my acne. and that’s because i have hormonal acne. and since i have excess hormones, they need soluble fiber to cling to to actually get rid of them. if i don’t have soluble fiber, the hormones continually recycle through my body and the acne never goes away. soluble fiber includes psyllium husk, oats, peas, legumes, apples, citrus, carrots, barley, and flax. I’m guessing when you say anti-nutrients. you’re talking about the lectins and phytates? soaking beans and rinsing them reduces those and many brands such as Eden Organics removes that issue all together. no matter where you look, you will find contradictory information about beans, believe me – I’ve eaten paleo for almost 10 years, I understand all the research that people are sharing. but eating that way has never cleared my skin like 2+ months on the bean protocol has. there is science out there saying that long term damage can be done by eating paleo or carnivore or keto, etc. yet it still seems to work great for others. i’m simply sharing something that is completely different to what i have believed for years and i feel fantastic from it.
Amazing! My husband said he could eat this 2-3x a week and he’s a picky eater! This will become a new staple!
awesome!! so glad to hear it!!
Stumbled across your blog the other day and I LOVE it! 🙂 Just tried this recipe yesterday and it was a big hit with the family. Even took some leftovers to my coworkers who devoured it at lunch! Haha Thanks so much for all the recipes and inspiration, Juli!
yayyyyy!! so happy you found my blog and I hope you love many more recipes!!
I made this last night and it was SO good! I used Banza chickpea pasta and you couldn’t even tell it apart from normal pasta when it was all mixed together. My husband even liked it except he wanted the black beans left out. Does your husband eat beans with your or is he anti-bean like mine?
yep, he eats them, too! he’s seen how transformative it’s been for my health so he’s jumped on that bandwagon, too!