Today, was Taco Thursday for lunch. I am going to share with you the recipe and macro stats for my Venison Taco Salad.

For those of you that don’t know, venison is a fancy term for meat that comes from a deer.  I am fortunate enough that my husband ensures that our freezer is stocked with ground venison, venison steaks, roasts, and sausage.  A local butcher does a great job in portioning each package of meat into approximately 1lb packs.  One of the reasons that I love to include venison in my diet is the fact that it is about as organic and “free range” as you can get.  There is very little fat in venison (unless your butcher adds beef fat, which we specifically DO NOT get added).  Basically, venison is the perfect meat for a high protein and low fat option.  If you are just starting to cook with venison, I suggest using ground venison in recipes that you would typically use ground beef (spaghetti, tacos, meatloaf, chili).

Venison Taco Salad Recipe  (Serves 2 people)

Ingredients:

1lb ground venison

¼ cup of taco seasoning (or chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, paprika)

2/3 cup of water

2 cups of shredded/chopped romaine lettuce

½ cup of shredded sharp cheddar cheese

4 tablespoons of salsa

Other topping options (not included in macros): Sour cream, guacamole, tomatoes, jalepenos

1) Brown ground venison in a frying pan over medium high heat until color turns from pink to brown. (Venison has very little fat, but strain and rinse cooked meat anyway to help eliminate any “gamey” taste.)

2) Add 2/3 cup of water and ¼ cup of taco seasoning to the meat and continue cooking over medium high heat until excess water is cooked out.  Set meat aside.

3) In a bowl, add 1 cup of shredded lettuce, 4 oz of cooked venison taco meat, ¼ cup of shredded cheese, and 2 tablespoons of salsa.  Top with any additional topping options. This meal takes about 15 minutes to prepare making it a great lunch option.  Or a quick dinner after training 😉

The macros for the recipe as I have described is: 5g of carbohydrates, 12g of fat, 42g of protein.

Try it out and let me know what you think.