Skip Taco Tuesday's and Go For The Kidney...Beans!

Many people interested in learning to cook often times, feel more comfortable, cooking vegetarian. Meat can be tricky, especially poultry, like chicken or turkey, because there is absolutely NO ROOM from under cooking...I mean you will be ill! Plus meat can be expensive and with a short shelf life, it can be tough to use all at once. With wilted veggies, you can throw away the yucky brown pieces and cook the heck out the rest and it will taste just as delicious as if it were fresh!

So how does one get a hearty "meaty" texture, without the meat?

An popular pseudo meat, is mushrooms. Portobellos especially, have a meaty texture when cooked with the same rubs and spices as you would a burger. They retain liquids well, giving the "juicy" burger taste, and can be quite filling with the right toppings. The nutritional values in mushrooms are low though, so you'd really be depending on those fixings to be getting a fairly nutritious meal.

But believe it or not, lentils can really do the trick. While the texture of most lentils don't compare to meat, because they are small, the kidney bean is an AMAZING meat sub, for many dishes!

Red kidney beans..from a can. Can you believe it?

Here's why you should believe it! For one, red kidney beans are often used in stews because, like the mushroom, it retains liquids well and pick up flavor better with marination, Second, it picks up flavors very well. The right spices and herbs make all the difference when something like beans, on its own, do not have much flavor to start, so cooking them for a prolonged amount of time in the right seasoning usually makes for a hit. Most importantly, kidney beans are hearty in texture. I mean have you ever tried to eat a lot of kidneys? Probably not, because, well that's disgusting and also, it's pretty freakin' hard to do so! They are super creamy when cooked, making for a heavy dish! Best thing about kidney beans are that they are inexpensive and, easy to prep and do not need to be prepared fresh to still have great nutritional value,

This dish below is everything I love about Mexican food. I'd say this dish reminds me of everything I love about burritos, without eating a burrito what so ever! You won't miss the tortilla, the tiniest sprinkle of cheese is all you need (if you need your cheese quenched, like me!), but a few slices of avocado will likely do the trick here too. The kidney beans, veggies, spices and sweet potatoes make this dish a great post work out meal with enough carbs to help you keep burning calories.

Now I used a spiralizer to get my sweet potatoes in thin, spaghetti-like noodle. I am a kitchen gadget fiend, but the spiralizer is the best nuance gadget I've ever owned. At $30 a pop, clean up is quick with some hot water and soap and it's infinitely safer than a mandolin because your fingers are not even close to any blades!

Alternatively, you could cube the sweet potatoes in this recipe and it will be just as easy and turn out just as delicious!

C'mon I spiralized so I could impress y'all...

Sweet Potato and Kidney Bean Burrito Hash


Ingredients:

• 2-3 sweet potatoes, peeled (cubed or ends cut off to be spiralized!) 
• 1 small white onion, diced
• 1 small red pepper, diced
• 2-3 zucchinis, cut into quarters 
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 can red kidney beans, rinsed
• 3 Tbl. olive oil
• 2 Tbl. taco seasoning (1 Tbl for sweet potatoes, the remainder for the veggies) - make your own or buy a pack, you decide!
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Fresh or canned corn (optional)
• 1/2 cup shredded pepper jack cheese

Directions:

1.    Preheat you oven to 400 degrees. Peel and cube your sweet potatoes (or peel and spiralize with your blade setting of choice).

2.    Place sweet potatoes on a baking sheet in an even layer and sprinkle 1 tsp taco seasoning, 1/2 tsp garlic powder and salt and pepper to taste; mix with 1 Tbl of olive oil and place in the oven for 15-20 minutes until soft.

3.    In a large skillet, heat remaining 2 Tbl. of olive oil on low-medium heat. Add your garlic and cook until fragrant, around 30 seconds.

4.   Add your diced onions and peppers, cook until softened about 5-6 minutes. Add in your faux meat, tofu, etc if you are doing so at this point!

5.   Rinse kidney beans in a strainer and add to pan. Cook for about 3 minutes and add taco seasoning. Cook for another 5 minutes.

6.   Plate your cooked sweet potatoes (cubed or spiralzed into a pasta shape!), top with kidney bean mixture, some fresh or canned corn and cheese (salsa, avocado...all great toppings as well!)

This recipe serves about 4-5 people. Make it vegan and skip the cheese, or please a carnivore and add some lean ground turkey into the mix!

But I Love Nachos: Legit Fusion Food That You Can Feel Good About

So I'm pretty much a sucker for nachos, or any other food smothered in cheese for that matter. While nachos shouldn't be a staple dish in anyone's diet, I'm always delighted by the layering textures you get when you bite into nachos...so I tried to replicate that with inspiration from my fav cuisine of all time, Mediterranean! Plus, I LOVE ME SOME FETA CHEESE!

I also, kind of love when chips in my nachos get a little soggy...so how do I get my healthy "med" chips (as I so affectionately have shortened the name) a little, soggy without the cheesy goodness?

Hummus, is the answer...to everything. I'm just kidding, but hummus will certainly act as a creamy, filling, "soggy-ing", agent as a replacement for nacho cheese.

What's even better is that I made my own. homemade "hummus" of sorts with sweet potatoes and some Asian influences (ginger and soy sauce!)

This dish is TRI-FUSION (Mexican themed, Mediterranean and Asian - inspired) Hmm...I feel like I should patent this dish, or get some serious world record cred? Maybe I'm being overly ambitious...

In any case, the hummus was so simple and easy to make! Extremely filling (as sweet potatoes are often used as an excellent substitute in veg dishes!). And on top of it all, I added half of a chicken breast! I thought I'd never say this but, a little nacho goes a long way.

Got real crafty and used some near-expiring lavash bread (pita works great too!) and made some baked, lavash chips. Clearly, a lot of TLC went into this dish.

Mediterranean Nachos with Homemade Sweet Potato Hummus

Adapted from Keepin' It Kind and Kid Cultivation 

Ingredients:

• 2 pieces of lavash bread, cut into small squares ( or a few pieces of pita, depending on how hungry you are!)
• 1/2 of an english cucumber, diced
• 1/2 cup grape tomatoes, diced
• 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1/4 cup kalamata olives, diced
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• Salt and pepper to taste

For Sweet Potato Hummus:

• 1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into cubes
• 1 Tbs tahini
• 1 Tbs minced ginger (or ginger paste)
• 3 tsps soy sauce
• 1-2 tsps Sriracha

Directions for Hummus:
1. Peel sweet potatoes and cut into large chunks. In a pot of water, bring potatoes to a boil and then simmer for about 15-20 minutes until slightly tender. Save potato water to help combine hummus later.
2. Drain and let them cool slightly.

So I improvised here because I ran out of soy sauce! Worked like a charm.

3. In a food processor, add sweet potatoes, ginger, tahini, soy sauce and Sriracha. Pulse until smooth and creamy. If slightly chunky, add in a teaspoon of reserved water from potatoes to hummus. Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Directions for Nachos:
1. Cut lavash into squares and place on a cookie sheet, spray with Pam.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place lavash in oven for aout 10 minutes or until slightly browned and crispy.
3. In the meantime, prepare "fattoush salad"... as this is pretty much what this salad is! Slice cucumber in half, then in half again so that you have cucumber quarters. Cut into chunks and place into tupperware.
4. Cut grape tomatoes in half and add to cucumbers. Slice kalamata olives and add drained and cut artichoke hearts to salad.
5. Toss with 2 teaspoons of olive oil, lots of pepper and 1/2 tsp of dried basil.

6. Store this in the fridge until you are ready to use it! If you don't add the feta at this stage, this salad will keep for 2 days in the fridge.
8. Once lavash chips are don, plate them and spread sweet potato hummus with a fork. Top with salad and crumbled feta. (Note: I added some sliced chicken breast that I had on hand for added protein!)

9. Keep remaining lavash chips in an airtight container for about 5 days as well.