Sweet Potato Black Bean Quesadillas

Hello Everyone,

My name is Lauren Harvey, and I am a Registered Dietitian working for Loblaw in the Stratford and Listowel Zehrs.

I work in the store to provide complementary, easy-to-access nutrition knowledge through individual consultations, personalized store tours, food and educational demos and clinics alongside our in-store Pharmacy. I am also fortunate enough to have a cooking school in my Stratford location, where we’re now running Chef Dietitian cooking classes. I enjoy working in the grocery store because it allows me to educate customers in a hands-on fashion with a huge variety of food products at our fingertips.

Along with working in the field of nutrition, I am also a self-proclaimed foodie. My fiancée has been vegetarian for 9 years, which has introduced me to many new flavours and styles of cooking. The tricky part is making sure that we’re getting all the nutrients we need without meat! So, I would like to share with you today a favourite vegetarian entrée that frequents my household- Sweet Potato Black Bean Quesadillas.

This recipe has been adapted from “The Vegetarian Collection”, a cookbook created by Canadian Living. The sweet potatoes weren’t part of the original recipe.

Ingredients:

2 tsp canola oil

1 sweet onion, chopped

2 roma tomatoes, diced

1 green bell pepper, diced

1 tbsp chili powder (I like chipotle chili powder for a little smokey and spicy flavour!)

½ tsp ground cumin

1 can no-sodium black beans, drained and rinsed (President’s Choice Blue Menu has a no-sodium option)

Salt and Pepper to taste

2 Medium sweet potatoes, peeled, steamed and mashed

4 Large PC Blue Menu Whole Grain Flour Tortillas

1-2 cups old cheddar cheese, grated

President’s Choice 0% Plain Greek Yogurt (a perfect sour-cream substitute!)

The altered version is a great lower-sodium option as many of the ingredients have been switched to no-sodium added version or do not naturally contain sodium. By substituting 0% plain greek yogurt for low-fat sour cream you get all of the same tang and creaminess without the added fat! Finally, combining beans with the whole grain tortilla provides an ideal meat alternative.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C), prepare a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly grease.

Heat canola oil in a large pan over medium heat; cook sweet onion, green pepper, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper until softened.

Add black beans and roma tomato; cook, stirring often, until heated through, about 5 minutes.