...Sweet Potato Nachos

Happy sunday friends! 

I hope you had a nice weekend! Ours was pretty calm, as last weekend we were in Cleveland at a dear friend's wedding. Like most Americans (or at least Southerners), we spent yesterday watching football with a couple of brewskis. Luckily both the Tigers and the Tide won, or it would have been an uncomfortable evening. Shout out to Clemson for beating Miami 58-0-- the biggest loss in the Canes history! 

With football, comes tailgating, and with tailgating comes fried, fatty foods. As soon as we turned on ESPN, I immediately had a craving for wings, nachos, and sliders. Not wanting to throw away my hard work at the gym that morning, I decided to make a twist on my personal favorite tailgate food: nachos. I swapped sweet potatos for chips, used lean ground beef, lots of veggies, and BOY- were the results delicious.  I promise, if you make these at your next tailgate or game-watching party, they will be a huge hit!

You may be wondering why I decided to use sweet potatoes. Well, they have an incredible amount of vitamin A, as well as calcium, potassium, and fiber. As I have mentioned before, fiber is a necessary to regulate digestion, and keeps you fuller longer. Studies have also shown that eating sweet potatoes, can help decrease your risk of obesity, heart disease, certain cancers, and diabetes. They are also my personal favorite superfood- and I believe, the tastiest. 

This recipe also includes one of my favorite grocery store finds- refried black beans. They are high in fiber and protein, and make for a tasty addition to any Mexican dish. I will do another post that goes more in depth into beans, but for now..

Let's get cooking!

Ingredients:

• 1 sweet potato, sliced into rounds
• 5 tablespoons refried black beans
• 1.5 oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 4 oz lean ground beef (I use 96% lean)
• 1/2 white onion, diced
• 2-3 tablespoons of your favorite salsa (I used Trader Joe's Fall Harvest Salsa, because there is pumpkin in it and I am #basic.)
• 1/2 cup of your favorite Pico de gallo (homemade or store bought. I used a store-bought one with black beans and corn. Just make sure if you are buying it from a store it's just tomatoes, onions, peppers, etc. and no added sugar or salt!)
• 1 tablespoon sour cream
• 2 tablespoons guacamole
• cilantro
• garlic powder
• salt
• pepper
• cumin
• ground cayenne 

Pre-heat the oven to 375*. Spray a cooking sheet with non-stick olive oil spray and place the circular sweet potatoes on it. Cook them for about 25 minutes, and then flip to the other side. Keep an eye on them as they should be roasted and toasted but not burnt.

While the sweet potatoes are cooking, spray a pan and add the ground beef to it. Season with salt, pepper, cilantro, garlic powder, cumin, and cilantro. I go pretty easy on the salt, but pretty heavy with the cilantro, cumin, and garlic powder. Once the meat is broken up in the pan, add the diced onion. Continue to stir, until the onions are translucent, and the meat shows no signs of red or pink. 
(P.S.- this is a great recipe to do some improvising! If you have some green bell peppers or jalapeños laying around the house, dice those up and toss them in with the beef!)

Remove the sweet potatoes. If they are not yet crispy, put them back in the oven on broil for about 2 minutes. Make sure to watch them- broil can make them go from tasty to toasted really quick!

You can see a few of mine got too toasty on the edges!

Once the sweet potatoes chips are done, remove them from the oven, and squish them together "nacho style". Spread the refried black beans on the "chips," then top with the ground beef and onion mixture, followed by the shredded cheese. Pop the pan back in the oven, or transfer to a microwaveable safe plate, and put them in the microwave.  The goal here is to heat up the beans, and let the cheese melt. 

Once the cheese is melted and bubbly, remove from real or microwave oven.  Top with pico de gallo, sour cream, guacamole, and salsa. Head back to watch the game, with delicious nachos in hand. Hopefully even if your team loses, at least you'll have enjoyed some tasty nom noms.

Nutrition:

Makes: 2 servings

Per serving:

Calories: 299

Fat: 12.8g

Carbs: 24.3g

Protein: 20.4g

Sugar: 7.2g

Fiber: 5.4g

Sodium: 467.1mg

Stay happy & healthy,

Molly

...Procuitto & Veggie Pasta

Pasta. Is there much better in the world? Nope, not really. And if you're like me, when you go on a "diet", pasta (and other carbs) are the first thing you cut out. You vow to stay away from fettuccine, ravioli, and saddest of all, mac & cheese. But never fear friends, I am here as your carb angel- with long, golden strands of hair made of spaghetti. 

Carbohydrates are a key part of any balanced diet- after all they are one of the three Macronutrients. Along with fat and protein, carbs are a key component of the human diet. But growing up in an Atkins world has caused a lot of us to demonize carbs and blame them for our bigger pants. However, like with most things in life, it's all about right choice: or in this case the right carb. And the right carb, is WHOLE GRAINS.

Why whole grains? Well for starters, they are full of fiber which keeps you fuller longer. They are also full of glucose which is your body's number one source of natural energy. Glucose not only gives you energy, but it also powers your brain- making it easier to learn and remember things. And last, but certainly not least, they literally make you happy. Carbohydrates are filled with tryptophan, which helps serotonin production. Serotonin is the neurotransmitter associated with feelings of well-being and happiness. You're more likely to get depressed if you don't eat carbs, as well as be moody and have difficulty sleeping. If that alone doesn't make you want to grab a big bowl of pasta, then nothing will!

One of the biggest mistakes when it comes to pasta is having a heaping helping of dairy (sauce & cheese) and oversized portions of noodles, while not adding tons of vegetables. Pasta dishes are one of the easiest ways to use veggies to add flavor and substance to the meal, so that is exactly what we are going to do today!

Here's a little dish I mixed up this afternoon using ingredients we had around the house. Of course, you can always swap out the veggies and meat for what you have handy (I always recommend chicken or turkey)!

Ingredients:

-2 oz. (dry) of your favorite whole wheat pasta. I used Trader Joe's Organic Brown Rice and Quinoa Spaghetti. 

-2 large slices of prosciutto

-1 1/2 cups of broccoli, diced

-1/2 of a large white onion, diced

-3/4 cup of mushrooms, diced

-1/2 green bell pepper, diced

-.75 cup of  shredded lite mozzarella cheese 

-2 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan

-garlic powder

-salt

-pepper

-oregano

-extra virgin olive oil

Let's get cooking:

First of all, place a large pot of water on the stove. Add the pasta, along with a dash of salt, to assist in boiling, and olive oil, to prevent the dreaded boil-over.

While the water is heating up dice the vegetables.  Coat a medium sized pan with cooking spray and place on medium-high heat.  Add the onions first, followed by the pepper, mushrooms, and broccoli. Season generously with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and oregano. 

Continue to stir both the vegetables and the pasta.  Slice the prosciutto into bite size pieces, and add to the skillet with the veggies. If needed, turn down the heat to prevent burning. 

The pasta should be ready to strain in about 8-10 minutes, after cooking in boiling water. Make sure to try a noodle before you drain so you know it's ready!

Drain the pasta and add it to the skillet, combining thoroughly.

Once the pasta, vegetables, and prosciutto are completely mixed, sprinkle in shredded mozzarella. Continue stirring, and the cheese will get all "melty" and delicious. 

Transfer the pasta to  your serving dishes, and top each bowl with the Parmesan. Now pour yourself a glass of red and enjoy!

His and her servings, pre Parmesan.

Nutritional Information: 

(Disclaimer: does not include wine)

Yields: 2 equal servings

Calories: 368 calories

Total Fat: 10.2g

Saturated Fat: 2.1g

Total Carbs: 48.6g

Fiber: 5.4g

Sugar: 2.5g

Protein: 22.4g

Stay happy & healthy,

Molly