Tacos for Diabetics and Bariatric patients

How about a spicy little dish with fewer than 15 grams of carbohydrate per serving?

Can we up the ante by making it light enough and with enough fiber to make it easily digestible for Bariatric patients?

Let's take it a step further and make it high in B vitamins and Iron.

The hardest part of my preparation for the 12 hour cookathon at Harlem Hospital last Saturday (Thank you all for coming) was the recipe development. What appeared to be effortless represented 6 months of preparation and study. Some Dieticians will take a recipe and make 'healthy substitutions' and give you something that tastes like sawdust. My goal is to create recipes that hit you with a wham of good flavor without the fat and sugar. One recipe equals anything from 6 to 30 hours in the kitchen.

And today I have one.

One area I did not touch last Saturday was Mexican food. I was asked specifically by one of the attendees if I would take it on. She told me she LOVED Mexican food but those corn shells and tortillas were a killer. She's right, white flour and corn are two substances to be avoided.

So...I got to work.

This recipes serves 4.

1 lb ground pork (beef, chicken, turkey can be used)
1 large onion minced
1 Roma tomato
A splash of water as needed
Cumin (a lot)
Cinnamon(a touch)
Chili powder (go for it)
Garlic powder (Yes)
Red Pepper (as much as you can stand)
Oregano (a few good shakes)
Smoked Paprika ( for that smoky flavor)
Hot sauce (how hot do you want them?)

1/4 cup mashed pinto beans. (re-fried without fat or mash them with a fork, canned are fine)

Don't panic if you don't have all of those seasonings, use what you have and keep an eye for sales, 99 cent stores and other places to stock up. Diabetics need to have seasoning on hand to keep food from being boring. If all you have it hot sauce start with that.

If you have a food processor buy the inexpensive pork loin chops. They are usually cheaper than the ground pork and you can grind it yourself and save money while getting less fat. This is true for any meat. If you don't have a food processor get the pre-ground but keep an eye out for sales. You don't need a 100 dollar Cuisinart, a 17 dollar chopper from Walgreen's works just fine (It's what I have at home)

Once the meat is removed throw the onion in the pan and turn low stirring to make soft. Water can be added to keep from burning. When the onion is soft add the tomato and the meat back in and start to season.

Shake what you have and taste. You don't have to measure seasoning, most of you have to be careful of too much salt but cumin won't make you retain water.

Add water as needed, you want it a little saucy. Now the beans, mix those in fully.

4 oz cheese

Grate it and put 1/4 on each plate, then put it back into the refrigerator so you are not tempted to go back.

1/4 cup unsweetened yogurt

This is your sour cream substitute, it contains good probiotics which help in digestion.

4 large lettuce leaves (these are your shells)

Divide the meat into 4 portions and spoon onto the leaves, Let each person garnish with the cheese and cream. You can also add 1/2 raw tomato to each plate if you want fresh tomato, and fresh cilantro or even acacado if you have it.

Roll into the leaves and hold carefully. If you eat too fast the filling will fall out, small bites please.

Enjoy, crisp lettuce, cooling cream, tangy cheese. This is dinner perfection.

4 fat lettuce leaves will bring you 478 satisfying calories.