Being in our Mexican/Tex-Mex rut, we decided to do a ground beef lettuce wrap instead of beef tacos. When I first tried to educate Cody about the lower carb/unprocessed life, he reacted the same way I did when I first heard about it. It’s hard to imagine life without wraps, pasta and bread, because we’ve all been so brainwashed to believe that a meal is not a meal without processed carbs. He still fights me sometimes, but we do pretty well for the most part.
Today I had him convinced. He really loves wraps, so he was willing to try it without an actual flour tortilla. Turns out, when your ingredients are as flavorful as these, there’s no need to wrap it in an unhealthy vessel. If Cody didn’t miss the flour tortilla – you won’t miss the flour tortilla either. Trust me.
We did add beans to the lettuce wrap, which might make some people ask, “but aren’t beans carbs?“. Well, yes and no. They do contain carbs, but they also contain a lot of protein. I believe that cutting processed foods is the most important thing you can do. If earth made it, eat it. If humans made it, leave it. Beans are made by earth and contain good stuff, including some good carbs.
So, let’s look at the actual recipe at hand. Some yummy Mexican style ground beef, black olives, salsa, cilantro, shredded cheddar, black beans, cilantro and a dollop of sour cream – all lovingly wrapped in a crisp leaf of romaine lettuce. Before you snatch up and stuff your face, squeeze a few drops of lime juice on top and you’re ready to go.
Ground Beef Lettuce Wrap with Cilantro
Ingredients
For The Ground Beef:
- 1 lb ground beef (500g)
- 3 tsp chili powder (for non-US: this is a mild mexican “chili” spice blend)
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- to taste salt and pepper
For Serving:
- 1 romaine lettuce head (pick a large one so you’ll have plenty of big leafs to use)
- 1/2 cup salsa
- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar
- 1/4 cup black olives
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro (roughly chopped)
- optional sour cream (we use dollops of about 1-2 tsp per lettuce wrap)
- optional fresh lime wedges a few drops of fresh lime really brings a great pop of flavor to the wraps.
Instructions
- Get a pan piping hot. Then add all the ingredients for the ground beef.
- Allow the ground beef to brown nicely. This will take about 10 minutes total.
- When you’re ready to serve - display the lettuce, ground beef and all the toppings in the center of the table and allow everyone to build their own wraps.
Simple, but delicious! Great for an easy lunch!