A recent study stated that most frozen entrees contain less than 2 tablespoons of vegetables. I don’t know about you but I would rather poke my eyeballs out than be forced to eat a Lean Cuisine for lunch – and that has nothing to do with the fact that it only has 2 tbs of vegetables. As I’ve mentioned before (and you’ve probably noticed), eating a wide-variety of foods is one of the primary reasons I am able to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Today I am sharing one of my favorite quick and easy lunch recipes – perfect for the home or office.
Sweet potatoes are one of my favorite go-to ingredients that I keep on hand, especially through the Winter. They are extremely nutritious, very affordable, easy to store and highly versatile. For a quick refresher on the many health benefits of sweet potatoes, check out my blog post featuring tasty Rosemary Sweet Potato Fries.
Another great aspect of this recipe is that it doesn’t contain any animal protein. Don’t get me wrong, I love a fat juicy steak as much as the next gal but this filling and healthful lunch is proof that you don’t need meat with every meal. By incorporating a few meatless meals into your weekly menu, you not only save calories, saturated fat and cholesterol but you also lower your grocery bill. I’ll spare you a lecture on meat and the harm is has on the environment but if you’re into that sort of thing, this is the meal for you. (And yes, I picked the avocados from my backyard – why do you ask?)
If you’re brown bagging it, simply make the black bean salsa the night before and microwave the sweet potato at work. I promise you won’t miss your daily french bread pizza.
Your fork is waiting.
Black Bean and Avocado Stuffed Sweet Potato
Ingredients:
- 1 medium sweet potato
- 1/2 c red pepper diced
- 1/2 c black beans drained and rinsed
- 1/2 c avocado cubed
- 2 tbs red onion diced
- 1 tsp chipotle peppers in adobo sauce minced optional
- 2 tbs lime juice
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tbs fresh cilantro chopped
- 2 tbs plain Greek yogurt for garnish
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
- Pierce sweet potato several times with a fork and microwave for 5-6 minutes.
- Meanwhile, combine diced peppers, black beans, avocado and chipotle peppers in a small bowl and dress with lime juice, cumin and garlic powder.
- Mix well and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Cut sweet potato in half and pinch together to create opening.
- Stuff with black bean mixture and garnish with Greek yogurt and cilantro.
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