Recipe: Taco shells, pitas, crepes

Tacos are life. It’s a fact.

There is so much in the world right now that is out of our control.

However, we can control what we put in our body and mind. 

When I got diagnosed with MS, I needed to put some aspects of my life on autopilot while I learned, processed and grieved. That meant I ate a constant rotation of salads and some sort of sautéed or baked vegetables for months, strictly because I knew it was good for me and I didn’t have the mental capacity or confidence in my current health state to branch out into much else.  

So, that meant it was all salads – with variations of different vegetables – all the time.

But salads every single day for the rest of your life can get pretty boring.

Eventually, as I learned more about this disease and felt better, windows of opportunity popped up every so often that I could create some old-school variety in my new normal.

The good news is you can create normalcy within the confines of a gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, preservative-free diet.

It just takes some work, preparation time, a few different ingredients that you might not be used to working with and the willingness to go through a fair amount of trial and error. 

There will be dumpster fires in the kitchen along the way, but it will be ok.

Bring your sense of humor and have a theoretical (or actual) fire extinguisher on hand.

It’s not about what we can’t do or have – whether that is right now or any other time. It’s about what we can do with what we have.

Recipes for a new normal:

I love me some tacos. So, first up in creating a new routine outside of mega-salads was tacos.

I’m happy to report it’s possible to create tacos with functional, whole-food ingredients.

Yes, technically corn shells are gluten-free, but I also aim to limit corn and processed corn products to very minor amounts. On the rare occasion I eat out, I can order things like tacos with corn shells, but at home, I prefer to make my own.

It’s more work, but the result is something I feel better about eating.

The internet is a glorious resource and people are handy. I was lucky to find this recipe for 3-ingredient naan from My Heart Beets.

I’ve adapted it to use the whole can, versus a cup, mainly just for ease. I’ve had many trial and errors and found measurements depend on the type and brand of flour you use.

This is definitely can be a ‘make-ahead’ item and can be reheated when needed and kept in the fridge for 3-5 days easily.

If making taco shells, I add at least one bulb of fresh or roasted garlic, as it cuts the coconut milk flavor quite well in a savory dish. If naan or pita-like bread is your end goal, you dial up the flour component. If sweet crepes are your end goal, leave out the garlic, use as is sans garlic, or add a bit of cocoa powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla or saffron, etc.  

While the nice lady that runs My Heart Beets advises in the recipe above to only use full-fat coconut milk, but I’ve had just as good of results for what I’m looking for with the low-fat version.

Prep is quite easy…as in it amounts to: “Put said ingredients in a blender. Blend.”

Making, storing, etc can be finicky as you’re starting out. What brand and type of flour also makes a difference.

A note on brands… I’ve made enough of these to be a taco master – it’s an official title. Hundreds and hundreds of taco shells.  

The brand of flour makes a difference I’ve found. I bought some in bulk off Amazon during the pandemic in an attempt to reduce the number of trips to the store…. and the mill or grind of the flour was such that it threw my outcome off and made a significantly thicker batter and resulted in a dumpster fire every single time.

Recipe: Basic crepe or taco shell

-       1 can full-fat or low-fat coconut milk

-       1 and ¼ cup almond flour

-       1 and ¼ cup tapioca flour or cassava flour (Bob’s Red Mill recommended)

Blend all ingredients in a blender while you pre-heat your pans. For taco shells and crepes you want a batter that resembles a melted milkshake. Not a milkshake, but not water either. For naan, which I don’t make as much, you will want a thick milkshake consistency, that will require scooping out the batter and spreading in a pan vs pouring.

Brands: Bob’s Red Mill is my go to

I’ve had the best, most consistent outcomes that can be adapted as needed, and I find I like Bob’s Red Mill Tapioca Flour or Cassava Flour the best of the five or six different ones I’ve tried.

Cooking Tip:

Use multiple nonstick pans to make this process move along faster.

Cook 2-3 minutes on the first side, until the edges start to lift and turn slightly golden. Flip them and cook another 2-3 minutes on the opposite side, until golden brown.

Crepe pans can be helpful for this:

I purchased this one at Marshalls for about $15. Small and thin for easy storage too.

Make, stuff, eat, be happy

Here are a version of tacos made with walnut taco meat, roasted sweet potatoes, black beans, sun-dried tomato and garlic sauce, cauliflower queso (found at Target or Kroger), pickled beet slaw and micro greens.

I’ll post my recipes for the walnut taco meat and sun-dried tomato and garlic sauce another time… they tend to be crowd pleasers.

I typically work with three to four nonstick pans going at once to make this as quick as possible. You could also do a griddle if you have a crepe spreader. Medium heat usually works. Once ingredients are blended and you’ve checked your consistence, pour (or scoop if making more pita or naan-style) about a softball-size pour of batter on to your pan and either roll the pan in a circle to spread the batter out or use a crepe spreader. I roll mine.

Cook 2-3 minutes on the first side, until the edges start to lift and turn slightly golden. Flip them and cook another 2-3 minutes on the opposite side, until golden brown.

Prior to blending I cut squares of parchment or wax paper in salad plate-ish sizes and set them aside. Place the crepes on a cooling rack or on the side of your plate for about a minute until they cool down a bit. Then layer the parchment or wax paper between each crepe so they don’t stick together.

Let them cool a bit if preparing for later. Stack with parchment in between each one and store in the fridge with some sort of protective wrap, airtight on top. When ready to eat, carefully separate each piece as needed, reheat in a pan for a quick bit each side or in the microwave for approximately 15 seconds.

Good for tacos, crepes, pitas or anything else you come up with…