4 Servings || Estimated Preparation Time: 60 minutes

  Sweet Potato and Black Bean Grain Bowls
      Nourish & Thrive
     
  
  
  Sometimes you just want something hearty, but light….filling but healthy, earthy but bright. We’re complicated, but dinner doesn’t have to be. These bean bowls are one of my favorite go-tos and I love to make a big batch and eat from it for several days. This is a meal always seems to fit the bill, regardless of the season, and you can find these ingredients all year round. The layers of flavor will brighten up a waning appetite, and your taste buds will ask for more. 
  
  
  4 Servings
  
  1 cup quinoa, well rinsed (Try a few different varieties such as red, black, white, or even a tri-colored variety)
  2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
  2 tablespoons of coconut oil, divided
  2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
  1 red onion, diced (1/2 for cooking with the beans, the other half can be kept raw for topping)
  1 large sweet potato, scrubbed and diced in ½ “ cubes (keep the vitamin-rich skin on, just scrub clean!)
  1 teaspoons cumin
  1 teaspoons coriander
  1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional if you can manage a little spice)
  2-3 garlic cloves, minced or very finely chopped
    1 avocado, thinly sliced
    1 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped*
    6 scallions/green onions, chopped*
    1 lime, sliced into wedges
    Sea Salt to taste


  Wash and prep all your vegetables and rinse the black beans, in a fine mesh sieve or colander and set aside.
  Quinoa:
  In a medium saucepan, cook the (1) cup of quinoa according to the directions, replacing the water with broth for extra flavor and a nutrient infusion. Be sure to cover the pan and leave the quinoa undisturbed as it simmers on low heat. (constantly stirring the quinoa will result in a gloppy mess).
  Black Beans:
  Warm the small saucepan over medium heat for several minutes. Once the pan is hot, add (1/2) tablespoon of coconut oil, immediately followed by the chopped (1/2) red onion.
  Let the onions cook for 3-4 minutes until sweating, then add the rinsed black beans and let the mixture simmer. Add a couple tablespoons of water and cover the pot to hold in the moisture. Keep this on low heat while you prepare the remaining components.
  Sweet Potatoes:
  Toss the cubed sweet potato with (1) teaspoon coriander, (1) teaspoon cumin, (1/4) teaspoon of cayenne pepper (optional), and a hearty pinch of sea salt in a mixing bowl.
  Preheat your large sauté pan over medium heat for 1-2 minutes. (If making the eggs, start preheating the pan now. Details below.)
  When the large sauté pan is hot, add (1.5) tablespoons of coconut oil then add the seasoned sweet potato. Let the potatoes cook and be still for about 4-5 minutes, then give everything a stir and let them cook for 2-3 more minutes. (if the potatoes start to stick, don’t add more oil, add a tablespoon or two of water and cover the pan to let it steam a bit. It will get those bits to release right up!)
  Add the (2-3) minced garlic cloves to the sweet potato mixture and sauté for about 45 seconds until garlic is fragrant. When the sweet potatoes are soft to a fork tine, turn off the heat and cover to keep warm.
  Assemble:
  Check to make sure the sweet potatoes are soft enough, and if so, you’re ready to assemble the bowls!
  Spoon in each of the individual menu components: quinoa, black beans, sweet potatoes, then top with avocado slices, raw onion (optional - a love or hate relationship with onions is a strictly personal one!), and fresh greens like cilantro and scallions. Then finish with fresh lime juice and a hearty pinch of sea salt.

Sometimes you just want something hearty, but light….filling but healthy, earthy but bright. We’re complicated, but dinner doesn’t have to be. These bean bowls are one of my favorite go-tos and I love to make a big batch and eat from it for several days. This is a meal always seems to fit the bill, regardless of the season, and you can find these ingredients all year round. The layers of flavor will brighten up a waning appetite, and your taste buds will ask for more.

Health Highlights

Are there healthy benefits this bowl doesn’t have?? Fibrous black beans, protein-packed quinoa, and high carotenoid filled sweet potatoes are finished with omega-3 avocados, and antioxidant rich cilantro. Every single ingredient in this recipe is jam packed with nutrition! I like to make a batch of this and eat it over several days! Next level: Black Bean and Sweet Potato Tacos.

Ingredients

(1) cup quinoa, well rinsed (Try a few different varieties such as red, black, white, or even a tri-colored variety)
(2) cups vegetable or chicken broth
(2) tablespoons of coconut oil, divided
(2) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
(1) red onion, diced (1/2 for cooking with the beans, the other half can be kept raw for topping)
(1) large sweet potato, scrubbed and diced in ½ “ cubes (keep the vitamin-rich skin on, just scrub clean!)
(1) teaspoons cumin
(1) teaspoons coriander
(1/4) teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional if you can manage a little spice)
(2-3) garlic cloves, minced or very finely chopped
(1) avocado, thinly sliced
(1) bunch cilantro, roughly chopped*
(6) scallions/green onions, chopped*
(1) lime, sliced into wedges
Sea Salt

*avoid if following a neutropenic protocol

Tools

cutting board and knife
prep bowls
fine mesh sieve/colander
medium saucepan
small saucepan
medium mixing/prep bowl
medium sauté pan
wooden spoons or silicone spatulas

Method

Wash and prep all your vegetables and rinse the black beans, in a fine mesh sieve or colander and set aside.

Quinoa

In a medium saucepan, cook the (1) cup of quinoa according to the directions, replacing the water with broth for extra flavor and a nutrient infusion. Be sure to cover the pan and leave the quinoa undisturbed as it simmers on low heat. (constantly stirring the quinoa will result in a gloppy mess).

Black Beans

Warm the small saucepan over medium heat for several minutes. Once the pan is hot, add (1/2) tablespoon of coconut oil, immediately followed by the chopped (1/2) red onion.
Let the onions cook for 3-4 minutes until sweating, then add the rinsed black beans and let the mixture simmer. Add a couple tablespoons of water and cover the pot to hold in the moisture. Keep this on low heat while you prepare the remaining components.

Sweet Potatoes

Toss the cubed sweet potato with (1) teaspoon coriander, (1) teaspoon cumin, (1/4) teaspoon of cayenne pepper (optional), and a hearty pinch of sea salt in a mixing bowl.
Preheat your large sauté pan over medium heat for 1-2 minutes. (If making the eggs, start preheating the pan now. Details below.)
When the large sauté pan is hot, add (1.5) tablespoons of coconut oil then add the seasoned sweet potato. Let the potatoes cook and be still for about 4-5 minutes, then give everything a stir and let them cook for 2-3 more minutes. (if the potatoes start to stick, don’t add more oil, add a tablespoon or two of water and cover the pan to let it steam a bit. It will get those bits to release right up!)
Add the (2-3) minced garlic cloves to the sweet potato mixture and sauté for about 45 seconds until garlic is fragrant. When the sweet potatoes are soft to a fork tine, turn off the heat and cover to keep warm.

Assemble

Check to make sure the sweet potatoes are soft enough, and if so, you’re ready to assemble the bowls!
Spoon in each of the individual menu components: quinoa, black beans, sweet potatoes, then top with avocado slices, raw onion (optional - a love or hate relationship with onions is a strictly personal one!), and fresh greens like cilantro and scallions. Then finish with fresh lime juice and a hearty pinch of sea salt.

Cancer Tips

Garlic contains the oil soluble compound allicin, which forms when the garlic tissue is damaged or crushed and converts to a sulfer-containing compound. (To increase the production of this compound, mince garlic for maximum exposure, and let the garlic sit for at least 10 minutes before applying heat.) Cell and animal studies have found that garlic’s allyl sulfur compounds may play a role in cancer prevention by several mechanisms, including: inhibiting enzymes that activate carcinogens, potentially cancer-causing compounds, boosting enzymes that detoxify carcinogens, helping with DNA repair, slowing growth and stimulating self-destruction of cancer cells without disturbing normal cells, limiting cancer’s ability to spread by decreasing tumor’s ability to grow new blood vessels (angiogenesis), and garlic’s allyl sulfur compounds – both the water and oil-soluble – also seem to prevent cancer by turning on tumor suppression genes!! [More info]
Sweet potatoes are rich in carotenoids (such as beta-carotene, lycopene, lutein, zeaxanthin), which may inhibit cancer cell growth, work as antioxidants and improve immune response [More info]
Eating foods rich in carotenoids such as sweet potatoes has been linked to a reduced risk of breast cancer recurrence. Carotenoids are the natural pigments found in yellow and orange foods (such as carrots, sweet potatoes and squash) and dark leafy greens such as kale, spinach and Swiss chard. In a 2009 study published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, increased consumption of carotenoids was associated with "greater likelihood of breast cancer-free survival." [More info]
Cilantro has been found to suppress lead accumulation in rats, which gives promise for the use of cilantro to combat lead and other heavy metal toxicity [More info]
"Dry beans and peas are rich in fiber (20% of Daily Value) and a good source of protein (10% of Daily Value). They are also an excellent source of folate, a B vitamin. Pulses contain other health-promoting substances that may also protect against cancer: Lignans and saponins, Resistant starch, starch not digested in the small intestine, is used by healthful bacteria in the colon to produce short-chain fatty acids, which seem to protect colon cells. Antioxidants from a variety of phytochemicals, including triterpenoids, flavonoids, inositol, protease inhibitors and sterols." [More info]

Recipe inspired by, Andrew Weil’s Yucatan Black Bean and Sweet Potato Tostadas in Fast Food, Good Food