Sweet Potato + Black Bean Hash

Oh snap…look who has another post this week!

Not that it should really be an accomplishment but I’ve gotta get back on track with baby steps I guess ;) 

Plus some things are just too good not to share!

Not sure where I got the inspiration for this, but I was trying to think of ways in use sweet potatoes in breakfast, plus I had some black beans in the fridge.  Boom.  Hash!

If you want to make it Paleo just leave out the beans…it would be delicious either way.  Personally I don’t get the whole “no beans” part of the paleo diet.  From what I’ve read the “anti-nutrients”in beans are in their uncooked state…and once properly soaked/prepared, the anti-nutrients are almost entirely gone.   Considering you can’t exactly eat uncooked beans, I’m not sure what the big deal is.

Woops, sidetracked.

Sweet Potato + Black Bean Hash
(for two people)

• 2 tsp coconut oil
• 1 medium sweet potato, diced
• 1/2 small yellow onion, diced
• 1 red or green bell pepper (or 1/2 each) diced
• 1/8 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/8 tsp paprika (or use 1/4 tsp paprika if you don’t have smoked)
• garlic powder, few shakes
• crushed red pepper flakes, few shakes
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup black beans (cooked or canned)
• 1 tsp butter or more coconut oil
• 2 eggs
• avocado (sliced, served on the side…optional, but SO good for you!)
• sour cream (optional)
• salsa (optional)

Note: best to chop the potato, onion, and pepper in small pieces so they cook faster.

In a cast iron or non-stick skillet heat the 2 tsp coconut oil over medium heat.  Add onion and pepper.  Sauté for 3-4 minutes.  Add sweet potato.  Stir in paprika, garlic powder, crushed red pepper, and salt.  Cook for another 5-7 minutes, only stir occasionally as the potatoes will only get browned if they sit still against the pan.  As the potatoes are just about done to the consistency you like, add the bean and cook another 1-2 minutes. 

Plate the hash on two plates, set aside somewhere to keep warm (sometimes I put them in a “cool” oven, or even turn the oven on for a couple minutes then off just to warm it a smidge).

In the same pan heat the 1 tsp butter or coconut oil.  Crack 2 eggs in the pan and cook to your liking….I did over easy.

Serve egg on top of hash….bacon on the side if you like!

The avocado on the side is a MUST for me.  I also added a little sour cream, but didn’t need any salsa…flavorful enough on its own.  I even liked a slightly runny yolk!!  Who am I??

I LOOOOVED this breakfast!!  It’s not a ton of food, but the proportions are really easy to adjust if you’re feeding more people or if you or your guest have bigger appetites!  Or just add more eggs :)  Brian and I tend to eat similar servings sometimes, but I know some of you might have husbands who eat way more so go nuts!  We were both completely satisfied…not too full, just right. 

Iced latte as my bevy of choice.

Lots of healthy fats, protein, and carbs here!  

I used to think I hated hash…in my mind it was always corned beef hash, like that weird stuff from a can, but thankfully now I know better and there are numerous ways to make a “hash” that do not involve canned meat products ;) 

Do you like hash?  Favorite version??

Shepherd's Pie & Exercise while Sick

You know how I was just saying that the good thing about paying a lot for Crossfit is that it makes me not want to miss a workout??  Well that plan gets slightly derailed when you get sick!!

I hate colds!  They’re never bad enough to really stay home from work (well this time it came on Friday afternoon, so lucky me had my whole weekend to get through the “worst”), but you also feel just fatigued enough to not want to do anything else. 

I’m also not going to push myself and risk getting sicker just for the sake of burning calories, but still…it’s just aggravating. 

I made it to Crossfit last night, and luckily the workout was on the “milder” side, but I’m still extra tired today…AND missed out on a fun dinner with some of my favorite local bloggers at the new Hawthorne in Boston…double bummer! 

So, how sick is too sick to workout??  I can usually just tell by my body but you hear all sorts of things…

Things I’ve heard:

• if it’s only above the neck it should be okay to workout.  As in, if your only congested in your nose, not your chest. 
• Lots of strength training is bad because when you work your muscles you make small tears in them, then your immune system kicks in to repair.  If your sick, then this takes your immune system away from your illness and onto your muscles.
• “sweat it out”

I’m sure there’s more, but those are the main ones that come to mind.  How do you decide?? 

Even though I’m sure I missed a fabulous dinner out tonight, I still had a delicious meal at home!

I made this version of Shepherds pie almost exactly 3 years ago!!  I still remember how much I liked it and have been meaning to make it since then.  I can’t believe it’s taken me THREE YEARS to re-make this dish!

It’s made with ground turkey and the topping is mashed sweet potatoes!

Sweet Potato & Turkey Shepherds Pie
adapted from eatingoutloud.com 

• 1 lb sweet potatoes (about 3 med size)
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 lb lean ground turkey
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2-3 carrots, diced
• 1 bulb fennel, chopped
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 1 1/2 cup beef stock
• 3/4 cup frozen peas (not necessary to thaw)
• 2 tsp fresh thyme
• 1 1/2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 cup water (or beef stock)
• salt/pepper to taste

Cook sweet potatoes however you want.  I peeled, chopped, and boiled them.  You could also steam, or roast them whole then remove the flesh from the skin.  Mash the cooked sweet potatoes with 1T butter, and a little salt and pepper if desired.

Pre-heat oven to 350

In a large skillet heat olive oil over medium heat then add turkey.   Break apart the turkey and cook until the meat is cooked through.  Add the onion, carrots, celery, and fennel.  Sauté for 1 minute.  Then add the 1 1/2 cups beef broth.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for about 10-12 minutes to cook the vegetables.  Add peas and thyme. 

Combine the flour, Worcestershire sauce, and 1/4 cup broth in a small bowl.  Mix until there are no more lumps from the flour.  Bring the heat back up to med, and slowly pour in the flour mixture while stirring the pan.  Bring back to a boil and cook for another 1-2 minutes until sauce thickens.  It does not need to be very thick.  Add salt and pepper to taste. 

Pour mixture into a medium size casserole dish.  Preferable one that is deep.  My pan was about 10”x7.5” and 2” deep.  I wouldn’t of had enough sweet potatoes for anything bigger. 

Spread the sweet potatoes over the filling.  Bake for 20 minutes. 

I enjoyed mine served over a bed of baby spinach for some extra greens!

I love the sort of sweet/salty combo going on here.  Delicious healthy comfort food.

Also had an Emergen-C spritzer with dinner ;)

Sweet and Savory Pancakes {paleo}

I experimented with a couple pancake recipes this weekend, both of which would fall under the “paleo” category.  Of course then I went a head and had maple syrup on the sweet ones, and cheese on the savory ones…but really, who wouldn’t? 

First on Saturday, I made some Almond-Coconut pancakes!



Almond Coconut Pancakes
serves 2

• 1 cup Almond Flour (or Almond Meal works too)
• 1/4 cup coconut flour (or unsweetened coconut, I actually had some organic unsweetened defatted coconut that I used)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 2/3-3/4 cup unsweetened Almond Milk (I used vanilla flavored unsweetened Almond milk)
• 1 Tbsp coconut oil (melted if needed)
• 1 Tbsp honey
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Combine almond flour, coconut, baking soda, and salt.  Whisk together to combine.  In a separate bowl beat the eggs with a fork then add almond milk, coconut oil, and honey.  Mix to combine, then add wet ingredients to dry.  Stir until mixture is combined.  If your batter is looking too thick, or thickens upon standing, add a little milk until it's pancake batter consistency!

Heat a griddle or skillet over med heat.  Use coconut oil or grassfed butter to grease the pan.  Once the pan is hot, add batter in desired size, cook until edges look done then flip.  Adjust heat while cooking incase the pan gets too hot.  Cook 2-3 more minutes or until pancakes look done. 

Serve as desired! 

Like I said we had real maple syrup, banana sliced, and Brian had butter on his (I’ve never been a fan of butter on pancakes). 

These were light, and had a nice subtle coconut flavor to them!  Really delicious.  I’m think next time I might add 1/4 tsp almond extract to really make the almond flavor come out as well. 

Brian loved them too, and he could care less about them being Paleo/low carb.



My savory pancake recipe was a true experiment, as I’ve never made anything like them before.  
I was flying solo this morning, Brian had gone up to NH for a friend’s b-day Sat night-Sunday, I stayed home with my new cold that came about Friday :/

I was hungry but had no idea what I was in the mood for.  Then I spotted a leftover, fully cooked sweet potato from the other night!  I also wanted an egg, and maybe something with cheese and hot sauce. 

It’s been a long time since I’ve made potato pancakes but I do remember egg was the binder.  I guess this would be more like a mashed (sweet) potato pancake!

Savory Sweet Potato Pancake
serves 1

• 1 small cooked sweet potato
• 1 egg, beaten
• hot sauce (to you’re liking)
• 1/4 tsp dried garlic (or garlic powder)
• 1-2 tsp butter
• optional: cheddar or gouda (or your favorite) cheese, about 1 slice or a few small slices if it’s cut from a large chunk.

Cut your cooked sweet potato in half then scrap out all the flesh into a small mixing bowl.  Mash with a fork to get rid of any big lumps.  Add the beaten egg, hot sauce (I did about 4-5 shakes, wish I did more!), and garlic (I used Garlic Gold).  At this point you could really add any other seasonings you might want! 

Heat a small skillet over med-high heat, melt some butter in the pan, just enough to have a nice coating on the bottom.  Once the pan is good and hot, make 2 equal size pancakes with your batter.  Cook 3-5 min per side until cooked through and golden browned. 

Add cheese on one half and place other pancake on top.



Serve with sour cream if you like!  I actually added some more hot sauce on top too.
I really loved these!  I think next time I’d grate the cheese and add it right into the batter. 
If I had to eat them without the cheese or sour cream, I’d like some sliced tomato with them to add a cool refreshing contrast to the pancake. 



For a breakfast “dessert” I had some blueberries and banana



In other news, I have an important decision to make.  I ordered some new sneakers for Crossfit and of course it’s down to the colors ;)



My initial favorite was the pink/green, but I’m actually leading towards the purple/orange ones!  Thoughts?  I’m picking one by the time I go to Crossfit tomorrow night!
And for fun, and Outfit post!

  

One of these days I’ll take a nice "fashion” shot, outdoors with the wind blowing in my hair and the sun casting a nice glow on my skin. 
But for now, it’s iphone in the office bathroom…  yeah. 
This outfit was revolved around that blue skirt…love that skirt.

• blue pencil skirt – Ann Taylor
• grey cardigan – Old Navy
• magenta shirt (which you can’t see) – Banana Republic
• mustard scarf – Target
• grey/yellow/gold t-strap heals – Seychelles from Nordstrom

If you have tomorrow off…lucky you!  I’ll be heading back to work like normal.  At least traffic will be a lot better.

Time for some frozen yogurt and then getting to bed early!  I hope :)

What’s your favorite thing to put in or on pancakes???  Maple syrup…all the way, the real stuff of course.  I look for any excuse to put maple syrup on anything!!  (except savory pancakes that is)

Turkey For Me and Turkey For You

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!!!!

I hope everyone has had a great day filled with food, family, and fun! I definitely have had just that :)This morning the fiance ran a road race...which in turn made me feel extra guilty haha. Although there was no way I was going to try my first road race on Thanksgiving when it easily could of been 15degrees out. It was actually pretty nice in the sun, but I wasn't ready...or registered for that matter. However, I plan to run tomorrow afternoon (after a full day 'o shopping), because it's supposed to be pretty mild.

While the boy was running, I had a vanilla Chobani with puffins and a banana on the side. The race route goes right by his apt, so I was blocked until it was over, I did manage to walk down to Starbucks to get a cappuccino though.I needed to get down to my mom's asap, to get to work on an appetizer I was bringing to my aunts. I created the Sweet Potato Pizza Bites!

Basically I sliced 2 sweet potatoes into rounds (using a Mandolin, which I proceeded to take a nice chunk out of the tip of my thumb with...awesome). Coated them with olive oil, salt and pepper then baked until cooked through, but not crispy. I was trying to get them on the verge of crispy.

Meanwhile I sliced and caramelized a large onion, which I added fresh sage to towards the end. I then placed some onions on each potato round. Then they were topped with goat cheese and thrown back into the oven to get warm and melt the cheese! These were yummmmmmy!!
It was time for Turkey Dinner 2 of 3, and so far mine was still the best hehe. It amazes me that even when you take a little of each thing you get a FULL plate!!

DELICIOUS!! Turkey, homemade gravy, mashed potatoes, family stuffing, green beans, carrots, squash, sweet potatoes, and two cranberry sauces :)

After my plate, I was full but not stuffed...it was dessert that put me over the edge! There were 8 pies, I had 4 tiny slivers but still...too much. I had mom's pecan, mom's chocolate cream, grandmother's butterscotch, and my cousins Banana cream.

I have to admit I'd really feel better after a workout, I find it very hard for me to exercise at other peoples houses...esp in the Winter. I need to really really make a solid effort to workout tomorrow.

At least I will have some serious walking in tomorrow during Black Friday shopping!! My mom and I love this...(well nothing beats the day after Christmas to me, but this is still great). I don't know what it is, but I just love the feeling of Christmas in the air or something. I do like to try and find Christmas gifts but if I don't that's fine too :)

And I leave you with a cute Willow picture...she just go groomed Monday


Happy Thanksgiving!!