Tacos for All: This is your next Summer Meal

Food is food. Models eat it, humans eat it, cute dogs and yep, even loud babies eat it. You shouldn’t feel like food is merely an option, or something to be avoided, manipulated, even substituted. That’s crazy! I’m telling you, as a normal person, as a model, as a tech at a power plant: You need to eat. I can understand that you might, sometimes, feel a pull towards the belief that starvation somehow helps us, but I’m here to lovingly pull you back, with the help of our Mom Squad, and healthy, beautiful, life-sustaining meals.

Since it’s an absolutely gorgeous Monday with not one single cloud in sight, we called a Brooklyn-based babe we’d been DYING for you to meet and said, “girl, what’s for dinner?”

She didn’t disappoint. Meet our friend Vitalisa — She’s a model, sure, but she’s also really funny, insanely cool, and the most adorable badass I’ve ever had the pleasure of instantly becoming friends with. We met through my Glamour Article — she sent me an email, we met up for coffee, and in about five seconds we forged a lifetime bond. I remember walking around the city after our coffee and being almost giddy with gratitude — How lucky was I that I got to meet someone, this awesome, almost out of thin air?!

When I moved back to Toronto the two of us began chatting daily, and from this correspondence, an affinity for tacos was formed (mainly because I’d always hear about how obsessed Vita was with this recipe; “it’s so easy and ugh SO GOOD” is a phrase I’m now pretty used to).

Without further ado, here is the holy grail of summer grub (plus a super cute photo of Vita and a small unknown baby).

Thanks, V! Welcome to the #MOMSquad.

Anyone who knows me knows I live for food. Whenever I go out for dinner, I spend a good ten minutes trying to guess what the sauce is made up of, how the recipe components compliment each other and how I can recreate it at home. This taco recipe is great because:

1. I always want tacos,

2. So many flavours (!!!), and

3. For a taco, the health factor is so on point.

Blackened Mahi Mahi Tacos with Avocado Lime Sauce (feat. Red Cabbage Slaw)

The original recipe is by Jessica Gavin, and can be found here. My modifications are in purple (because I’m fancy, ya know?).

Avocado Lime Sauce

½ cup sour cream (I used 0% milk fat Greek Yogurt, tastes the same)
1 ripe avocado
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro (I used more because I love cilantro)
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice (I used a whole lime, because I love lime)
Zest of 1 lime (I don’t have a zester, but you can use a cheese grater instead)
½ teaspoon serrano pepper seeded and chopped (I used half a pepper)

Blackened Mahi Mahi Tacos

1½ teaspoons smoked paprika
1½ teaspoons dark brown sugar (used Stevia, and reduced to ½ teaspoon)
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon chili powder
1½ pounds Mahi Mahi filets, cut lengthwise into smaller pieces if needed
1 tablespoon vegetable oil (used coconut oil)
8 (6-inch) corn tortillas (wrapped in a raw collard leaf instead)
8 lime wedges
1 cup diced tomatoes (used cherry tomatoes)
1 cup red cabbage, sliced thin (For this one, I wanted something cooler, so I did my own thing. Please see MY OWN (!!!) magic cabbage slaw recipe, below, for extra joy)
1 cup green cabbage, sliced thin (omitted)
Cilantro, for garnish (ALL THE CILANTRO)

Vita’s *Very Own* Magic Red Cabbage Slaw

½ a red cabbage
3–4 table spoons of white vinegar
1 table spoon of balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons fresh cilantro (put as much or little in there as you like)
1 shallot (red onion works well too)
½ large carrot (for color variety)
1 teaspoon brown sugar (honey, agave works well too)
½ tablespoon of olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

• Make the cabbage slaw first. Take the half of the cabbage and slice as thinly as possible. Do the same with the shallot, and half the carrot.
• Chop up the cilantro. Throw it in a medium dish preferably with a lid. Put in vinegars, olive oil, brown sugar, and salt in pepper.
• With your hands, knead the cabbage mixture so you start breaking down the red cabbage as well as mixing everything together. Put the lid on and let the cabbage sit in room temperature for at least 30 minutes. I usually let it sit for 2–3 hours, so the flavours mix and the cabbage breaks down.
• Combine sour cream, avocado, cilantro, lime juice, lime zest and Serrano pepper in a blender; process until smooth. Transfer to a small bowl and refrigerate.
• Combine paprika, brown sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, cumin and chili pepper in a small bowl. Sprinkle seasoning evenly over both sides of the fish filets.
• Heat oil in a large cast-iron skillet or sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add fish to pan; cook 2–3 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness.
• Warm tortillas according to package directions. Divide fish evenly among tortillas. Serve with lime wedges, tomatoes, cabbage, and cilantro. (Or wrap ingredients in a collard leaf)

And eat. And make for everyone. And then snapchat it and send photos to your mom. Enjoy!

In love and tacos for all,
Vita, and Madison (M/O/M)