The versatility of this recipe is my favorite part about it.  It is delicious and refreshing as an evening meal and packs well for meal prep lunches on the go.  It also can be made friendly for those in your family with a LARGE appetite.  Making everyone happy at the dinner table with one meal is a bonus!

• 1 lb. ground turkey — I used 93/7
• 4 TBS taco seasoning
• 1/2 c. rinsed black beans
• 1/2 c. frozen sweet corn, thawed
• 12 medium pitted black olives
• 1/2 c. diced sweet bell pepper — I used red and orange
• 1/2 c. diced celery
• 3 TBS fresh grated parmesan cheese
• 8 c. cleaned and chopped baby spinach
• 1/2 c. fresh salsa
• 1/4 c. plain greek yogurt

If you menu plan and meal prep, many of the vegetables can be chopped in advance and placed in a gallon size baggie.  One day of dicing and cleaning and you are free for the rest of the week.  Place turkey in a skillet and start browning on medium heat.  When it is about half done, add the taco seasoning.  Continue to cook, stirring frequently to evenly incorporate the taco seasoning.

While the turkey is cooking, prepare the salad in a bowl or on individual plates. Layer the spinach, black beans, corn, black olives, bell pepper, and celery.  Top with ground taco turkey, greek yogurt, salsa, and cheese.  If your prefer to have a dressing with your salad, make a fiesta dressing with the fresh salsa, yogurt, and taco seasoning.

Optional Fiesta Dressing

• 1/2 c. fresh salsa
• 1/4 c. plain greek yogurt
• 1 teaspoon taco seasoning

I feed an eighteen year old boy.  Although he would gladly sit down and eat my salad and then get up from the table and thank me, I know he would walk away not nearly as satisfied as I was.  I simply take everything that was prepared for this meal and turn his salad into a burrito.  A simple tortilla shell heated on a griddle pan and topped with the salad ingredients (a little less spinach) can be rolled into a dinner that will make him smile.

Here comes the time saving tips that we are famous for.  You can simply serve this for dinner, you can double the recipe, serve it for dinner and meal prep the left overs for lunches, or this could just be lunch meal prep.  A recycled fruit cup fits perfectly into the top of a wide mouth Ball jar and can be used to keep your wet ingredients from making your lettuce soggy until you are ready to eat it.

Use a scale or portion control baggie to individually package cooled taco turkey.  I like to freeze the protein part of my lunch.  I will mix and match what I have available in the freezer depending on my mood that day.  It usually starts with a mason jar salad and taco turkey, dijon chicken breast, or Jamaican Jerk chicken breast.  I also worry less about the amount of time the meat has been in my lunch box before I can get it refrigerated or eat it if it starts from frozen.  Sometimes, I will take it out of the freezer the night before.

Perfect for lunch at work.

Heat the turkey and start dumping into your bowl.

Fresh and delicious!

Enjoy!

Mom Cooks Clean