Make Your Own Taco Mix!

We love tacos in this house. Actually, my husband introduced me to a wonderfully bachelor-iffic dish he calls Fracos (frah-coes).  It's all the beefy goodness of tacos, but instead of shells or tortillas...you put the meat in a bowl with all of the toppings and eat with with Fritos Scoops.
Sooooo good. Not so healthy, because you can tear through a bag of scoops in no time flat...but we still eat it once in a long while.

I knew my husband and I were a perfect match when I found out he likes out-of-the ordinary toppings on his tacos like me. He loves Thousand Island dressing on his, and I like pickle relish. I have no idea where I got the idea for pickles on a taco salad, but I think I recall my mom setting them out as a kid when we would have taco night. In a traditional taco salad, I'll go the full deal with lettuce, cucumbers, onions...and my beloved sweet pickle relish. No cheese. No taco sauce. No sour cream.

Wow, I'm a weirdo.

Unless someone else eats pickles on tacos. Then I'm pretty sure we're related.  Yay!

So when I was diagnosed with high blood pressure, I got worried about taco night.  I started monitoring my sodium intake, and it was scary. Switching out lower sodium options in my everyday life seemed like a good place to start some dietary changes...and sometimes with really nasty replacements. Thankfully I found an excellent - if not better! - substitution for taco seasoning.

First you round up the ingredients, and grab something airtight to store it in.

Here is your ingredient list:

• 1/4 cup tablespoons ground cumin
• 1 tablepoon ground paprika
• 1/2 cup chili powder
• 8 teaspoons corn starch
• 4 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne powder

If you like it spicy, add more cayenne. Sometimes I leave out the cayenne completely and this has enough kick for me, but I'm kind of a sissy when it comes to spicy food, so I wouldn't exactly trust my judgement!  

Drop it all in the jar together and give it a good shake. That is all there is to it!

The jar above gives the breakdown of how much to use per pound of meat, but in case you missed it, it's 1/4 cup of seasoning plus 1/2 cup water. We have used ground beef, ground turkey and ground chicken, and all are awesome...but I am a taco purist at heart and just like my ground beef flavor. You can add more or less for your own personal taste. This is completely customizable, which makes it even more awesome in my eyes.

Give it a try.  It's a delicious and low sodium replacement for taco seasoning, plus if you get the spices for a buck a piece, you're going to be able to save sooooo much money by making it in bulk!