Mexican and Healthy

On a rainy, windy, dreary winter day in Connecticut what is better to do than to play in the kitchen. Nice, warm and cosy. Yummy too. I started with some spiced nuts and then made some vanilla pudding. For lunch I brought out a filling for Sweet Potato and Black Bean Burritos that I made a few weeks ago. Do not be afraid - it came out of the freezer.
"American" Mexican food is notorious for beeing high in fat. With all the cheese, sour cream, and other added fats it can pack a diet killing punch. A restaurant burrito could be as much as 1000 calories. The trick is to reduce the amouts of the animal and saturated fats and increase the amounts of the vegetables and the beans. Salsa is a good low fat, vegetable based addition. Guacamole, while being high in fat, is vegetable based and full of good monounsaturated fats. These burritos are filled with mashed sweet potatoes and black beans, with a nice spicey kick. They go well with a topping of salsa (15 calories for 2 tbsp) and guacamole ( (45 calories for 2 tbsp) and a bit of sour cream (49 calories for 2 tbsp of light- 50 calories for 2 tbsp of full fat) to smooth out the spice. For the guacamole I like to use "Holy Guacamole", found in the produce section. It has a nice fresh taste and people think it is homemade.

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Burrito

5 cups peeled, cubed sweet potato
3 tsp canola oil
3 1/2 cups diced onion
4 cloves garlic, mince
1 tbsp minced fresh green chile (do this with gloves on)
4 tsp ground cumin
4 tsp ground coriander
3 - 15 ounce cans black beans, rinsed and drained
2 tbsp lemon juice
10 corn tortillas ( warmed in non-stick skillet spray each tortilla with cooking spray- this makes the tortillas soft, so you can wrap them without them tearing)
Salsa and guacamole

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Place sweet potatoes into a medium saucepan with water. cover and bring to a boil, simmer until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.
3. While the potatoes are cooking, heat medium skillet, add oil and saute onion, garlic and chiles until soft and tender. Add the garlic toward the end to avoid burning. Add cumin and coriander, cook for 2-3 minutes more. Set aside.
4. With a potato masher, mash together the sweet potatoes, black beans, lemon juice and a bit of salt. Add cooked onion mixture.
5. Lightly oil a large baking dish. Prepare the tortillas. Spoon 2/3 cup filling into the center of each tortilla, roll and place, seam side down in the baking dish. Cover dish with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Serve hot topped with salsa and guacamole on the side.