Healthy Lettuce Tacos – Vegan, Gluten-free and Paleo

Last updated on November 16th, 2020 at 03:35 pm

These healthy lettuce wraps are vegan, raw and anti-inflammatory. And super delicious! So don’t let (pride and) prejudice stop you, go ahead and fix them in 15 minutes! You’ll be really surprised (in a good way)

If you read my post about how much I hate meal prep, you might remember a picture of a healthy paleo and vegan lettuce taco.

No? Well here it is again.

This little lettuce taco proved to me that I’ve been a real jerk all these years. You know why? Because never in my life did I think I would eat something raw vegan.

Or at least kinda raw vegan.

I would hear raw vegan and I would roll my eyes and think of an eating disorder.

Like you’re vegan and you’re eating raw?

So basically you’re eating nothing.

Nichts. Nada. Ничево. Told you – a real jerk, but at least I know the word nothing in 4-5 languages.

Okay, so needless to say I take all of my “thoughts” and “opinions” back.

Because this is one of the most delicious things I have eaten in a while.

Well, admittedly I ate a lot of crap last few months, but still – it is. And it counts, because I still have my taste buds.

And I kinda like these wraps more than vegan tacos with lentils, beans or tofu. They surprised me.

See, usually I know pretty well whether I would like something or not. Even before I make it. But this wrap has really surprised me. I thought I’d be hungry and would miss “real food”.

None of that. Wasn’t hungry and this is real food.

I decided to make these wraps because I wanted to try something new and to eat more salads, drink more smoothies and just load on vegetables and nuts.

Well, since I had never tried anything raw vegan, I decided to make my own nut-meat – combining 3 types of nuts, lots of spices, herbs and mixing some fresh vegetables in all that.

I just used whatever I had at home.

I also don’t even know if this is a taco anymore, because I removed pretty much everything a real taco is known for. But hey, it looks a little like it.

And it tastes amazing.

The only kinda “negative” thing about this almost raw recipe is that it’s cold.

But that did not bother me at all and I’m sure you won’t care about it too. Can’t imagine someone eating a warm lettuce wrap.

And the nut-meat? It really tastes like ground meat. Even a little better in my honest opinion.

It’s also very filling – with two lettuce wraps you’re just done. Delicious and satisfying.

My Two Days Of Being Almost Raw Vegan

Altogether my experience as an almost raw vegan lasted about 2 days. But during those two days I felt incredibly healthy and energized. I think I have never really had this much energy in my life.

And I was also a child at some point of my life, you know? Aaah what a fun last year it was.

So during my almost raw vegan 2 days, I would have a smoothie, or a smoothie bowl in the morning, a salad with Brazil nuts for lunch and these lettuce wraps for dinner.

And I felt so full all the time.

I would also snack on cashews and have a green smoothie in between.

Now this doesn’t seem like a lot of food, or like something that would inspire your food day dreams.

And now that I read it sounds kinda depressing. But like I told you – I felt better than ever.

Now I’ll stop talking, before I tell you how good I felt for the millionth time.

Options

• If you don’t want to mix all these types of nuts and seeds you can just use just walnuts, as I don’t think almonds would make a good mixture on their own. If you have nut allergy, you can try a pumpkin + sunflower seeds mix and add some olive oil or water to the mixture so it can get chunky.
• As a sauce you can add something with avocado (try this dip) or a dip made with vegetables (like peppers, zucchini, garlic with some olive oil – blend all that until smooth). This is a great option, because the nut-meat could seem a little heavy. By adding the dip you can lighten things up and give some nice contrast to the meat. Plus, it makes it super easy to eat more vegetables.

Health and Beauty Benefits

Needless to say these wraps are super healthy and good for your skin. They’re anti-inflammatory and the filling is rich in omega-3’s, antioxidants, vitamin C and E, fiber, B-vitamins, iron, zinc, magnesium and protein.

Healthy Lettuce Tacos – Vegan, Gluten-free and Paleo

Print

This is an incredibly delicious healthy romaine lettuce tacos recipe that is almost raw (uses tomato paste), vegan, paleo, gluten-free, dairy-free and grain-free. Hope you enjoy this super tasty and easy to make recipe!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup walnuts, soaked & dried
• 1/2 cup almonds, soaked & dried
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds, soaked & dried
• 1/2 tbsp ground flax seeds
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1/2 tsp coriander, ground
• some hot paprika/chili powder (optional)
• some black pepper
• 1 medium onion
• bunch cilantro / parsley or basil
• a handful of spinach or arugula
• 1.5 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1tsp vinegar (I used balsamic)
• 2 small tomatoes, cubed
• 1 garlic clove (optional)
• 1 red pepper
• 1 carrot
• romaine lettuce or other type
• avocado dill dip (optionally)

Instructions

1. If you did soak the nuts & seeds - dry them properly and put them in your food processor. Add tomato paste, cumin, turmeric, ginger, coriander, garlic (optional), black pepper, chili powder/hot paprika (optional). Add vinegar and lemon juice. Pulse until chunky (the mixture kinda resembles ground meat after it's cooked).
2. Chop cilantro, arugula or spinach, tomatoes, red pepper and carrot.
3. Put the mixture in a bowl or a into a large airtight container if you want to store the mixture later, and add all the vegetables you just chopped to it. Combine.
4. Add 2 Tbsp of the mixture on lettuce leaves (washed and dried) and if you wish, serve with some avocado sauce or other vegetable sauce. Enjoy!

Notes

If you don't have time to soak the nuts, you can also use them like that. Soaking makes nuts easier to digest and in my case seems to remove allergens (especially in almonds) that otherwise cause itching in my throat and ears due to my seasonal allergy, so if you have the same problem - soaking might help.

If you do soak, make sure you also dry the nuts well, if you want to keep the mixture in your fridge for a few days.

It made 6 tacos for me

I hope you give this recipe a shot and love it as much as I do! If you do try it, let me know if you like it in the comments or take a picture and share it with me on Instagram using the hashtag #beautybites.

Should you have any questions don’t hesitate to ask 🙂

You might also enjoy

• How to eat to reduce inflammation in the body
• 3 diet changes to reduce inflammation
• 5 anti-inflammatory foods to eat daily
• 10 foods to beat diabetes