Taco Seasoning (and why homemade is so much better)
Taco Tuesday is a thing in my house. Ever since I can remember tacos were the one meal that reappeared on the menu every week because they were so loved.
I remember the ‘era’ of tacos when my mom decided to make homemade taco seasoning. *initiate scary music*. At the age of 11 this was a terror to me. The taco making process was so simple and I was very familiar with how to rip open a bag of taco seasoning from the store and mix it in. With some tweaking of the taco seasoning recipe I grew to love our homemade mix much more than anything you can buy.
At first homemade taco mix was just an exploration of my mother’s but as I grew up I learned that pre-made mixes from the store came with ingredients that you don't necessarily want to be eating. Not to mention the more items in your menu you make at home the more money you save and the more true flavor you have. Whenever you chose to make something on your own rather than buying it from the store you are choosing the right to ‘own your dish’. When someone compliments you on your awesome tacos you can say “Thanks, I threw in a bit more cayenne this time because I knew you appreciate spicy food”.
The spices themselves are not the threatening ingredients you want to avoid but rather it is the sugar, starch from genetically modified potatoes and worst of all ‘natural flavorings’ which is generally code language for Monosodium Glutamate.
What is mono-sodium-what did you say?
Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is a neurotoxin that stimulates every cell in the body. The stimulation of the brain and the taste buds is what gives MSG the ability to enhance flavors and make you want more. The bad part about this is that it is stressful and far from natural for every part of your body to be stimulated just by eating food. Creating a stress response in the body is not what you want to do when you are trying to digest food. Another downfall is that glutamate feeds cancer cells. Cancer cells are extremely hyper active and therefore feed on the stimulation of the glutamate. Studies have shown that when glutamate is taken out of the diet cancer cells that are feeding on it start to shrink.
Mixing up a big batch of seasoning for quick and easy use is much more cost effective than going to the store and pulling a premixed package off the shelf.
Taco Seasoning
1 1/4 Cup Chili powder
4tsp. Garlic powder
4 tsp Onion powder
4 tsp Crushed Red pepper flakes
4 tsp Oregano
4TBS Paprika
1/2 Cup Ground Cumin
5 TBS Salt
5 TBS Black pepper
Mix the spices together and store in airtight container. Add 3 tablespoon of seasoning blend and 1/3 cup water into a pound of cooked beef. Let the meat and spices blend together on medium heat for 5 minutes. Serve hot taco meat with all your favorite taco toppings and enjoy!
