Monday Night Meal Prep: Taco Bar
Let’s do dinner.
I’m committed to sharing a video of a meal I make for myself and my family as often as possible. My hope is to normalize food and eating. My intention is to bring compassion and safety to meal planning, meal preparation, and the eating experience.
A peaceful relationship with food doesn’t have anything to do with eating all the “right” food.
Eating competence, as defined by The Satter Eating Competence Model, can be explained by four principles:
Context: Take time to eat, and provide yourself with rewarding meals and snacks at regular and reliable times.
Attitude: Cultivate positive attitudes about eating and about food. Emphasize providing rather than depriving; seeking food rather than avoiding it.
Food acceptance: Enjoy your eating, eat foods you like, and let yourself be comfortable with and relaxed about what you eat. Enjoying eating supports the natural inclination to seek variety, the keystone of healthful food selection.
Internal regulation: Pay attention to your sensations of hunger and fullness to determine how much to eat. Go to meals and snacks hungry, eat until you feel satisfied, and then stop, knowing another meal or snack is coming soon when you can do it again.
Are you a competent eater?
Do you feel good about food and about eating—and feel good about feeling good?
Do you eat a variety of food and enjoy learning to eat new food?
Do you trust yourself to eat enough for you?
Do you take time to eat? To have regular meals (and snacks) and pay attention while you eat?
“Eating competence creates harmony between your wants and shoulds with eating.”
— ELLYN SATTER, DIETITIAN, FAMILY THERAPIST, MOTHER
Please enjoy tonight’s video as a source of inspiration, not for comparison or perfection. Before there was Chipotle, folks everywhere set the taco bar fixings right out on the kitchen counter. I grew up in the Midwest and we called this meal “Haystacks”.
I love this meal. Here are the ingredients:
Tortillas, tacos, fajitas, or tortilla chips
Ground Turkey + taco seasoning (I use Mccormick Spice brand)
Grilled Skirt Steak (from my local grocer’s meat counter - pre-seasoned, thank you!)
Black Beans (canned with garlic, onion, and spices)
Rice
Shredded Cheese (we like a cheddar/Monterey Jack blend)
Salad (Roasted Garlic Chopped Kit from Taylor Farms brand is my favorite)
Salsa (I get the mild - made by El Sol and found in the refrigerator section by our deli)
Guacamole (made with salt, pepper, and a squeeze of lime juice)
Sour cream or plain yogurt
When we have the time and capacity, I add:
Chopped cilantro
Pickled jalapeños
Crumbled cotija
Chopped tomatoes
Salsa verde
Remember, you and food can find a way forward together. First steps look like showing up with compassion and curiosity.
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