Happy Monday! Don’t know how I got stuck with Monday being my post day. The worst day of the week. Hated by almost everyone. But, if I can bring some joy to this dreary day, I guess it’s ok! One good thing about Monday-you have all week to give this recipe a try!
This dinner is multi-faceted! It’s filled with healthy goodness! It’s amazing how full you can get on a small amount of food when it’s high quality, high nutrient.
We start by slicing up sweet potatoes into strips. The thinner the piece, the less cooking time required. After they’re sliced, put the sweet potatoes on a piece of aluminum foil, drizzle with a little olive oil, and pop them into the oven at 425 degrees for about an hour to bake.
While these are baking, slice up a couple of shallots. These will be added to the sweet potatoes about 20 minutes prior to the end of bake time. What the heck is a shallot?? It’s actually part of the onion family, but it’s taste is sweeter and milder. Shallots also grow in clusters instead of one single onion. I guess you could say that shallots are the shy, quiet, get-lost-in-the-group part of the onion family.
Next, cook the quinoa. I always make too much quinoa! Probably because it’s so tiny when it’s not cooked and fluffs up so much after cooking! Since this post is full of fun facts, you should know that quinoa is actually not a grain, rather a grain from the chard/spinach/beets group! Quinoa is also one of the few plant-based foods that is a complete protein. So, when you get that inevitable question when you tell people you eat a plant-based diet of “Where do you get your protein?” (insert eye-roll) you can tell them you eat quinoa.
While the quinoa is cooking and the potatoes are baking, mix lemon juice, olive oil, and garlic in a small bowl. Add the kale and coat it with this mixture. This dressing was delicious!
You’ll also need black beans for this dish. I often use dried beans, but this time I didn’t have time to soak and cook them so I opted for canned. There isn’t much of a significant difference. Canned beans are handy to have for convenience, but dry beans are cheaper.
Lastly, you’ll want to toast some pepitas (a.k.a. pumpkin seeds without the shell) and sunflower seeds. This can easily be done while the potatoes are cooking. Another fun fact, pepitas are named for the Spanish term “little seeds from squash.” So cute!
Now it’s time to put it all together! Kale goes in first, add the quinoa and beans, top with the sweet potatoes and shallots, top with Little Seeds From Squash and sunflower seeds!
