Taco's - Ye or Ne?

shan11180

So Taco's are a major staple in my house. The kids love them, they're gluten free (curse you celiacs!) and super easy and quick. But holy moly they are full of sodium. I made some homemade taco seasoning, thinking it would be a better alternative, but according to the MFP recipe importer, the sodium in the homemade is through the roof!

I've always considered taco's a 'healthier' dinner because I can pile veggies on, use ground turkey, and all that jazz, but now I'm questioning if that's true. Any thoughts?

Ready2Rock206

I don't track sodium - and I love tacos. I guess it's all about what you put on them, but for me they'r great. Fit my goals, delicious, etc... Do they fit your goals? Do you like them? Do you have a medical issue that requires limiting sodium? These are the questions to ask yourself.

AdamImadA

Half the salt?

janejellyroll

When the question is "Taco?", my answer is always "Yes."

gaelicstorm26

If sodium is concern, what about leaving your meat out of the seasoning and putting a very small amount of seasoning in your sour cream or something so that you can limit that variable? Or maybe skipping the meat and going for veggie tacos instead? I think you could really manipulate some variables here unless seasoning is an absolute must for you.

queenliz99

I eat homemade tacos every week!! Make it fit in your calories allotment for the day! If you were told to eat less sodium this can be done by seasoning the meat yourself. To me tacos are essential for happiness.

Francl27

Sodium isn't an issue unless you have high blood pressure or other specific health issues.

mrron2u

janejellyroll wrote: »

When the question is "Taco?", my answer is always "Yes."

Yes - this!!! And I guess as I don't monitor sodium I never really considered taco's being high in that. I add lots of veggies to my taco's so I think the sodium ratio gets evened out by the sodium free lettuce, etc.

shan11180

Ready2Rock206 wrote: »

I don't track sodium - and I love tacos. I guess it's all about what you put on them, but for me they'r great. Fit my goals, delicious, etc... Do they fit your goals? Do you like them? Do you have a medical issue that requires limiting sodium? These are the questions to ask yourself.

I LOVE THEM. I don't have a medical issue that requires me to limit sodium, but I seem to get the crap beat out of me by sodium at least 2x per week. Meaning: I go over my sodium intake on MFP.

shan11180

janejellyroll wrote: »

When the question is "Taco?", my answer is always "Yes."

THIS. Totally agree.

kami3006

Francl27 wrote: »

Sodium isn't an issue unless you have high blood pressure or other specific health issues.

^ This. If you do need to watch your sodium, just manipulate your recipe or experiment with others. It's easy to do when you're making your own.

shan11180

gaelicstorm26 wrote: »

If sodium is concern, what about leaving your meat out of the seasoning and putting a very small amount of seasoning in your sour cream or something so that you can limit that variable? Or maybe skipping the meat and going for veggie tacos instead? I think you could really manipulate some variables here unless seasoning is an absolute must for you.

I actually really like this idea! I've never thought about seasoning just my portion. Thanks!!

shan11180

queenliz99 wrote: »

I eat homemade tacos every week!! Make it fit in your calories allotment for the day! If you were told to eat less sodium this can be done by seasoning the meat yourself. To me tacos are essential for happiness.

Agreed. Completely. Tacos = happiness.

shan11180

Francl27 wrote: »

Sodium isn't an issue unless you have high blood pressure or other specific health issues.

Really? I thought it caused water retention?

jaqcan

I like the suggestion of leaving the seasoning out of the meat and putting it in the sour cream. Not that I have any problem with taco shells, but taco salads are my favorite! Having them tonight!!!!

juggernaut1974

shan11180 wrote: »

Francl27 wrote: »

Sodium isn't an issue unless you have high blood pressure or other specific health issues.

Really? I thought it caused water retention?

It does, but that's not harmful...just your body's natural response, and it's temporary.

Nuke_64

Here's my go to Turkey Taco recipe. I haven't put it in recipe builder but I don't see any significant sources of sodium. Adjust the about of chipotles and adobe to taste.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/make-your-own-tacos-bar-recipe.html

But like others said, sodium isn't generally a concern unless you are told it is by your physician (likely because of high blood pressure).

ariana_eatsandlifts

If tacos are wrong, I don't want to be right.

JoRocka

I love Tacos.
How could they possibly be "unhealthy"?

cwolfman13

shan11180 wrote: »

So Taco's are a major staple in my house. The kids love them, they're gluten free (curse you celiacs!) and super easy and quick. But holy moly they are full of sodium. I made some homemade taco seasoning, thinking it would be a better alternative, but according to the MFP recipe importer, the sodium in the homemade is through the roof!

I've always considered taco's a 'healthier' dinner because I can pile veggies on, use ground turkey, and all that jazz, but now I'm questioning if that's true. Any thoughts?

whatever "homemade" you're looking at in the database is just some random entry from a user.

the only way your homemade seasoning would be through the roof with sodium is if you made it that way...like you put an *kitten* load of salt in it...but you can't just select some rando, generic entry from the database for something you're making homemade.

bumpbreakcar

Now i want tacos

JoRocka

As far as logging- since that's an issue- I would log the ingredients separately as you use them- it's safer and will be more accurate for you.

extra_medium

Life without tacos is not worth living.

shan11180

Loving all the responses!! Great info! And a reminder as to why I love MFP. Such a wealth of knowledge here.

debrakgoogins

Yes all day long to tacos! I make all my own seasonings, using sea salt. Like others have said, sodium only becomes an issue if a doctor advises it is. If I have a meal with more salt, I just up my water intake. Enjoy what you like!

CasperNaegle

We do tacos all the time, very lean beef, shrimp, even turkey. Love the flavor and can get them into our meal planning. I don't use taco seasoning as I always just use my own raw spices. I don't honestly pay much attention to sodium.

shan11180

extra_medium wrote: »

Life without tacos is not worth living.

HA! Completely agree.

shan11180

CasperNaegle wrote: »

We do tacos all the time, very lean beef, shrimp, even turkey. Love the flavor and can get them into our meal planning. I don't use taco seasoning as I always just use my own raw spices. I don't honestly pay much attention to sodium.

May I ask what seasonings you use?

Queenmunchy

I use Homemade Taco Seasoning and cut down the salt to a few cranks per how my family likes it.

JoRocka

extra_medium wrote: »

Life without tacos is not worth living.

I guess this begs the bigger question- can you ACTUALLY live- TRULY live without them?

My supposition is that - no- you cannot.

CasperNaegle

On ground beef or ground turkey I use mostly chili powder and then I do add Garlic salt. You could use straight garlic powder if sodium was a big concern. I've played with some cumin and cayenne(too spice it up some). I have also cooked the meet with onions and jalapenos before to add some more. Usually though just chili powder and garlic salt.