Nirvana Tacos: How Collards Found Their Divine Purpose

Yes, a collard leaf instead of a tortilla. Sound weird to you?  Trust us. Just try it. It’s sooooooo good. Really.

We have a dear friend named Mystica, creator of Essential Oxygen Brushing Rinse (which we love), who came up with the name “Nirvana Tacos” to describe what we can only describe as collard leaves’ true divine purpose. Collard tacos have been around for a while, appealing to both raw vegans, low-carb and Paleo types and people who just like healthy delicious things. Skya ate the heck out of some collard wraps in his raw food days, but Mystica initiated Traci into the realm of leafy green tacos. Traci’s love affair with Mexico and its cuisine compelled her to create this, dare we say, brilliant variation on Mexico’s darling, integrating a more authentic interior flavor palate.

We’d also like to use this one dish wonder to showcase what we consider to be a balanced meal that can be adapted to individual metabolic needs and taste buds. It has:

Protein: wild fish or whatever you choose. Here we used salmon, but that’s not so typical for us here in Hawaii. Normally, we would use a local wild fish, like mongchong, opah, ono or mahi mahi. Check out what’s local in your neck of the woods (river, lake or ocean).

Good fats: fish, avocados, anything you cooked the fish or veggies in, such as coconut oil, and coconut fat if you make the creamy sauce.

Colorful non-starchy veggies (low/ slow glycemic carbs): whatever you choose, such as zucchini, peppers, onions, mushrooms, grated carrots, cabbage, lest we forget the collard leaf itself, etc.

Nourishing starches/ sugars (not fast carbs, but not too slow either): fruit (if you make the salsa option with fruit), avocado (pretty darn slow)… Ummm, okay, not too starchy here, but you’ll probably survive and, if you insist, then you may want to note that Mystica’s original version had a little cooked quinoa in each one, or you can add a little sprouted slow cooked black beans if you have any laying around looking for a life purpose.

Collard greens are a slow carb, gluten free, paleo friendly, allergen free alternative to tortillas. They can be adapted for vegetarians and vegans. Keep in mind that where collard wraps are concerned, the rules are there are no rules, so experiment away! Make up your own. Always play with your food!

A Word About Recipes

Although we love to get inspiration from them, we really aren’t recipe people in our own culinary adventures. We want to teach you how to make delicious food using the ingredients you enjoy and that are available to you. One of the things we love about eating this way is that there are endless possibilities, and you don’t have to feel like you can’t make this just because you don’t have the exact ingredients. Learn to improvise!

In order to assist you with this we are including a conceptual overview of this recipe so that you can make your very own version of Nirvana Tacos. Of course, for those of you who are overwhelmed by this, don’t be, just skip down to the recipe where we provide you with one of our favorite versions.

Choose Your Own Adventure:

*For the simplified version see recipe at the end of this post*

Serves 4 (adapt to however much you want to make)

The Base

• 8 collard leaves (2, per meal, any size you like, but medium seems to work best), stem removed and de-ribbed (this means using a small sharp knife to carefully shave off the bumpy vein that runs down the center of the leaf to yield and nice flat surface that is easy to fill, fold and munch). If you cannot get collards, any large leafy green will do (lettuce, cabbage, kale).

Protein (Pick 1, sauté or grill, and cut into bite size pieces)

• 1 1/2 pounds opah or other local, wild fish filet (protein alternatives: shrimp, scallops, chicken, beef, lamb, turkey, tempeh, cooked sprouted beans, etc.)
• You will also need: unrefined coconut oil, high mineral sea salt, 2 fresh limes and minced fresh garlic, if using
• Cooking option 1: salt, sauté in coconut oil, squeeze fresh lime juice on top
• Cooking option 2: salt, coat in coconut oil, and a little chopped garlic (optional); grill and squeeze lime juice at end (optional: marinate seafood or meat ahead in salt, coconut oil, garlic and lime juice)
• SHORTCUT: Buy four servings worth of smoked wild whitefish (no sugar added) or high quality rotisserie chicken (non-GMO, no weird chemicals or other unhealthy ingredients). They’re already cooked and delicious

Cooked Veggie Toppings (Pick 2-3)

• Grilled veggies of your choice (zucchini, yellow squash, peppers, onions, mushrooms, etc.)
• SHORTCUT: Skip cooked veggies and just use raw vegetable garnishes (see below).

Salsas/ Sauces (Pick 1)

Option 1: Pico de Gallo (Salsa Fresca)

• Check out quick and easy recipe here!

Option 2: Coconut Lime Cilantro Sauce

• 1 can (about 1 ¾ cups) coconut milk
• 1 small bunch cilantro, chopped
• juice of 1 lime, or to taste
• 1 raw or roasted, deseeded pepper (jalapeño, serrano, poblano, bell pepper) Note: peppers can be omitted if you do not tolerate nightshades.
• High mineral sea salt to taste (about 1/4 teaspoon)

Puree all ingredients in a blender until smooth and creamy. Any extra sauce can be frozen for later use.

Option 3: SHORTCUT- Buy salsa pre-made
Ideally you would find an organic, authentic tasting real deal salsa, but most organic ones taste too Americanized and just plain wrong. We confess, we love Winking Girl Salsa (tomatillo chipotle flavor), even though it is not organic.
Let us know if you find an awesome organic one that tastes like Mexico!

Raw Garnishes

Pick at least 2.

• 1 zucchini and/ or yellow squash, grated (omit if using cooked zucchini unless you like to toy with culinary redundancy)
• 1 bunch pink radishes, 1-2 watermelon radishes or 1 small daikon radish, grated
• 2 medium carrots (or 4-6 small multicolored heirloom if available), grated
• 1/4 finely shredded purple or green cabbage
• SHORTCUT: Use grated organic veggies off of a health food store salad bar.

These are highly recommended every time!

• Chopped onion (any color – purple is pretty)
• Chopped cilantro (stems included)
• Avocado or homemade guacamole
• Live fermented sauerkraut
• SHORTCUT: Use store bought organic, live fermented sauerkraut (we love Farmhouse Culture brand smoked jalapeño flavor, Wildbrine brand smoky kale and health food store deli made guacamole, if it has no crap ingredients).

Taco Assembly:
Lay down a prepared collard leaf on a clean surface. Fill with fish, grated and/ or cooked veggies, salsa, cilantro, onion, avocado or guacamole and any optional ingredients. Fold in half and eat like a taco! Have a napkin handy. Drips are part of the fun!