Baked Sweet Potato Bar Dinner

Baked sweet potato loaded with zesty black beans, melted cheese, salsa with a dollop of cream. What can be better than a 20 minute meal!

Today's recipe is a guest post from The Picky Eater. I met Anjali in San Francisco last year; she's a sweet blogger who I instantly connected with, she is also a vegetarian and shared this delicious (yes, I tested this myself and loved it!) recipe with us, perfect for meatless Monday!

Hi Everyone! My name is Anjali Shah and I blog over at The Picky Eater, where I write about healthy recipes and easy-to-make family meals. I test all of my recipes on my “fast food loving husband,” who, prior to meeting me, ate a diet of frozen pizzas and Taco Bell, so any recipe that makes it on to my blog is “husband approved”!

I’m so excited to be a guest blogger today on Gina’s site! Ever since I met her at the Foodbuzz Conference last year and saw the amazing photographs and wonderful recipes on her blog, I’ve been a fan – and I’m so honored to be a part of this blog and meet all of you.

One of my favorite things to do in the kitchen is to makeover comfort foods into healthy versions that taste amazing, are full of flavor and feel just like the original.

Today I’d like to share one of my favorite recipes – my Loaded Baked Potato Makeover. My healthy swaps include: sweet potatoes instead of russet, “loaded” toppings like black beans and veggies sautéed with spices, and a dollop of cream (which is my favorite swap – 0% Greek Yogurt for sour cream!) The husband usually can’t tell the difference, especially when I spice up the yogurt with some taco seasoning.

This meal is delicious and takes only 20 minutes to make, which is why I love making it after a long day at work – I know I’ll have something yummy in my stomach in the same amount of time it would take to pick up takeout. The husband loved it too, and it has since become a staple weeknight meal in our house. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!


Loaded Baked Sweet Potato “Healthified” 
Skinnytaste.com
Servings: 4 • Size: 1 potato • Old Points: 6 pts • Points+: 8 pt
Calories: 307 • Fat: 5 g • Carb: 53 g • Fiber: 10.5 g • Protein: 15 g • Sugar: 1 g
Sodium: 312 mg  (without salt) 

Ingredients:

• 4 medium sized sweet potatoes
• 1/2 cup fat free Greek yogurt (or light sour cream)
• 1 tsp taco seasoning
• 1 tsp olive or canola oil
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 red onion, diced
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp paprika or smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• a pinch of salt
• 1-1/3 cups canned black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup mild or spicy salsa
• 1/2 cup reduced fat Mexican cheese blend
• 1/4 cup chopped scallions or cilantro

Directions:

Poke holes in the potato with a fork, cook on your microwave’s potato setting until potatoes are soft and cooked through (about 8-10 minutes on high for 4 potatoes). If you don't have a microwave, bake about 45 minutes at 400°F.

Combine yogurt and taco seasoning in a small bowl, mix well.

Heat oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Add peppers, onions, chili powder, paprika, cumin and salt; cook until the onions have caramelized slightly, about 5 minutes. Add black beans, stir to combine and heat through (about another 5 minutes).

Slice the potato lengthwise down the middle or as I did in the photo, use a fork to pierce the top in an oval shape, then remove the top of each potato. Top with 2 tbsp shredded cheese, 1/3 cup of black bean mixture, 2 tbsp Greek yogurt mixture and 2 tbsp salsa of salsa. Enjoy!

Anjali Shah is a food writer and owner of The Picky Eater, a healthy food and lifestyle blog. Follow her on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, or Google+.

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2012/12/loaded-baked-sweet-potato.html