Low Nickel Beet and Butternut Squash Tacos

When eating a low nickel diet, do you miss eating tacos and burritos? Look no further than these mouthwatering low nickel beet and butternut squash tacos garnished with a tasty lime cream sauce that brings everything together! 

There are plenty of ways to spice up tacos and burritos without beans, lettuce, tomatoes or avocadoes. In addition to these beet and butternut squash tacos, chicken, beef, or fish street tacos are great low nickel alternatives. One of my favorite low nickel burritos was made with sweet potatoes, shallots, garlic and roasted bell peppers, all of which are lower nickel foods.

Not many Mexican-style restaurants offer creative bean-free tacos or burritos. There are a handful of restaurants allowing customers to create their own tacos using common low nickel ingredients. When dining out, it’s critical to ask the server about the types of tortillas used, as they could contain soybean oil or whole grain wheat. Cooking your own low nickel meals is the number one recommended way to control all of the ingredients and the process in which the food is cooked. 

Beans are higher in nickel and often a staple in Mexican food. I will eat beans on occasion, but I wouldn’t recommend it, as beans always – always make my eczema flare. When I cook these tacos, I often bake a small amount of black beans in a separate Pyrex container for my spouse to enjoy.

These delectable tacos depend on the flavor combination of roasted beets and roasted seasoned butternut squash garnished with a tasty lime cream sauce that brings everything together. The lime cream sauce is one of the best aspects of this recipe and does not include any of the traditional flavors of tomatoes or avocados. Instead the lime cream sauce includes the mixture of seasonings, lime zest, lime juice, plain yogurt and sour cream. 

Tomatoes are higher in histamines, despite their lower nickel content, they can trigger our bodies to release more histamines which can outwardly mimic eczema or atopic dermatitis symptoms. Some of us with a systemic nickel allergy (SNAS) can tolerate tomatoes, and more so when they are cooked than raw in traditional fresh salsa. Some seasonings can also impact histamine levels, such as chili and hot paprika. Avocados are another histamine rich food, but the nickel content in avocados varies widely from medium to high. In the U.S. most grocery store avocados are cultivated in nutrient rich volcanic soil in Mexico. Volcanic soils tend to contain higher concentrations of nickel, than other types of soil. Using a food journal is the best tool to identify what your body can or cannot tolerate. A food journal can also provide insight as to whether you may benefit from learning more about histamine intolerance and techniques to reduce histamine induced symptoms.

For the taco base, I use Guerrero Corn Tortillas, as they’re healthier than flour tortillas. If you’re ambitious, there are plenty of low nickel corn or flour tortilla recipes available online. If you choose to make your own, I recommend being mindful of what oil or lard is used, to ensure it doesn’t contain  soybean oil, as sometimes it’s unfortunately combined with soybean oil.

You can also make this recipe your own and swap out the beets for sweet potatoes or other low nickel veggies you want to savor. This low nickel beet and butternut squash taco recipe is adapted from Chelsea’s Messy Apron’s Butternut Squash Tacos recipe.

If you try and enjoy this recipe, please give it a 5 star rating in the comment section below.

Low Nickel Beet and Butternut Squash Tacos

Christy Cushing at https://nickelfoodallergy.com/

Mouthwatering low nickel beet and butternut squash tacos garnished with a tasty lime cream sauce that brings everything together!

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 45 minutes mins

Resting Time 5 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr

Course Dinner, low nickel, Lunch

Cuisine Mexican

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

  

Seasoning Beets and Butternut Squash

• 2 medium beets
• ½ Tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium butternut squash
• ½ teaspoon chili powder
• ½ teaspoon paprika
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil

Lime Cream Sauce

• ¼ cup plain yogurt
• ¼ cup sour cream
• zest from 2 limes
• 3 teaspoons lime juice or juiced from 1 large lime or 2 small limes
• ½ chili powder
• ¼ paprika

Garnish (all optional)

• diced green onions or chives
• diced radish
• cilantro
• shredded cheddar cheese
• Cotija cheese

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and read through the entire recipe.
• To prepare the beets, first cut off both the top stem and bottom. Peel the beets. Next carefully dice the peeled beets into 1 inch pieces and place the diced butternut squash in a separate medium sized Pyrex glass pan. Lastly, drizzle the ½ Tablespoon of olive oil over the diced beets and ensure all the pieces are flat and evenly coated.
• To prepare the butternut squash, cut off both the top stem and bottom of the butternut squash. Peel the butternut squash and carefully cut it in half, vertically. Next using a large spoon, scoop out the inner seeds and soft stringy insides. Lastly dice the peeled butternut squash into 1 inch pieces and place them flat in a large 9×13 Pyrex glass pan. The larger the cubes of butternut squash, the longer it will take to cook.
• In a small bowl, mix the ½ teaspoon chili powder, ½ teaspoon paprika, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon sea salt and 2 Tablespoons olive oil. Then drizzle the mixed seasoning on the oiled on the butternut squash, tossing the butternut squash to ensure all of the pieces are evenly coated in the oiled seasoning. Leave out some of these seasonings out as they'll be used to make the lime cream sauce.
• Place both the unseasoned but lightly oiled beets and the seasoned and oiled butternut squash in the oven. Cook them both for 30-40 minutes or until both the beets and butternut squash is soft and roasted. The beets will probably roast sooner than the butternut squash and will likely need to be removed from the oven before the butternut squash is fully cooked. Both the roasted beets and butternut squash should be soft and tender and easy to cut when fully cooked. If not, continue to cook them in the oven for about 5-10 minutes, watching them closely so they don't burn.
• Be careful when removing either the beets and butternut squash from the oven, as sometimes the extra moisture in the beets and butternut squash will cause them to steam and the steam will be released upon opening the oven.
• Make the lime cream sauce while the beets and butternut squash is roasting. Combine the plain yogurt and sour cream in a small bowl, stirring in the zest, lime juice and adding the ½ teaspoon chili powder and ¼ teaspoon paprika. Stir everything together and refrigerate the lime cream sauce for later.
• Once fully cooked, take both the roasted beets and butternut squash out of the oven and let them cool for 5-10 minutes.
• Before the roasted beets and butternut squash are fully cooled, place corn tortillas in the oven to warm for 1-2 minutes (longer if your oven is turned off).
• Bring together all of the ingredients to make your tacos on the warm corn tortillas, combining the roasted beets with the seasoned roasted butternut squash, and placing some of the lime cream sauce and garnish of your choice on top and enjoy!

Notes

Be careful when removing either the beets and butternut squash from the oven, as sometimes the extra moisture in the beets and butternut squash will cause them to steam and the steam will be released upon opening the oven.

Garnish the low nickel beet and butternut squash tacos with the lime cream sauce and freshly diced green onions, chives, radish, fresh cilantro, cheddar or Cotija cheese.

This recipe is also great only with roasted beets, but more beets is recommended and I suggest the beets are seasoned prior to roasting. Likewise the recipe is delicious with only the roasted seasoned butternut squash.

Keyword beet and butternut squash tacos, living low nickel, low nickel desserts, low nickel diet, low nickel recipes, nickel food allergy recipes, tacos