Taco Salad - and TVP

I have always loved taco salads - especially when I am "dieting" but I wasn't sure how a vegan version would look and taste. TVP is textured vegetable protein. It comes dried in bags and you reconstitute when you are ready to use it by pouring boiling water over it. I put some in a non-stick skillet and poured hot water over it til it soaked it all up. Then added a packet of taco seasoning, a can of kidney beans, a little salsa, and some sliced onion and cooked it until the onion was tender. In the meantime, I fixed a big bowl of lettuce, put some tomatoes on top, crumbled just a few Guiltless Gourmet tortilla chips, (they have just a little fat so go light on them) and then poured the taco mixture over the top. I topped with some Walden Farms Thousand Island dressing - John used the Honey Dijon. It was quite tasty. TVP has 12 grams of protein for 1/4 cup and zero fat. It takes on the flavor of whatever you cook it in so it's good for chili, spaghetti, and tacos. Doesn't taste or look like meat - but it adds "body" and texture to the dishes.