Sweet Potatoes with Warm Black Bean Salad

In honor of Earth Day on April 22, I made a meatless meal that was very good.  Tony was a little skeptical when he realized there was no meat on his plate.  But the sweet potato with bean salad, half an avocado and green salad on the side were plenty.  Blake loved his sweet potato too!

Basically, this is a healthy take on a baked potato topped with chili.  Both are good, but this sweet potato version is extremely quick to make (aside from baking the potatoes for an hour in oven).  The recipe is courtesy of EatingWell Magazine on Yahoo.

Sweet Potatoes with Warm Black Bean Salad

4 medium sweet potatoes
1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed
2 medium tomatoes, diced
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1. Prick sweet potatoes with a fork in several places.  Place in a baking dish (or directly on oven rack with foil beneath) and bake at 425ºF until tender all the way to the center, about 1 hour.

2. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine beans, tomatoes, oil, cumin, coriander and salt until heated through.

3. When just cool enough to handle, slash each sweet potato lengthwise, press open to make a well in the center and spoon the bean mixture into the well. Top each with a dollop of sour cream and sprinkle of cilantro.

Makes 4 servings