I can’t believe it’s almost July. You know that means? Christmas in July on the Hallmark channel.
Oh yes, I went there. If you know me, then you know I’m obsessed with watching Christmas movies on the Hallmark channel. Any time of year that I can get them. I even have a bunch of them on DVD. They make me happy. 🙂 This meal also makes me happy. I’ve been on a kick with hearty vegetarian lunches lately and I’m adding this one to the rotation.
The lime cilantro yogurt dressing is the star of this dish and what inspired me to make this meal. I wanted a creamy version of the cilantro vinaigrette that I made a few weeks ago and this is it. I have to admit that making dressing is a bit of extra work and I don’t usually make it because I’m lazy or tired or busy or all of the above. But these cilantro dressings are giving me life. They are so good and worth making if you can muster the motivation.
I think the dressing has a bit of a Mexican flair because of the cilantro so I added black beans for a protein kick. I’m into roasted veggies lately so I roasted up some sweet potatoes and veggies. I think many veggies will work here, but the green bell pepper and red onion add great flavor. All of the goodies and dressing are topped onto some brown rice. Brown rice can be a bit “earthy crunchy” for some, so feel free to swap it out with white rice or quinoa.
Sweet Potato and Black Bean Bowls Recipe
(Makes 2 servings)
Ingredients for Sweet Potato and Black Bean Bowls:
- 1 sweet potato, peeled and roughly chopped
- 1 bell pepper (I used green.), roughly chopped
- 1/2 of a red onion, roughly chopped
- 1 and 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 2 cups of cooked brown rice
- 1 can (15.5 ounces) black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 avocado, skin and pit removed, chopped
- dollop of Lime Cilantro Yogurt Dressing (see below)
- (optional) extra lime juice
- (optional) sprinkling of fresh cilantro
Ingredients for Lime Cilantro Yogurt Dressing:
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 teaspoon honey
- fresh juice from 1 lime
- 1/8 cup olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
Ingredients for Sweet Potato and Black Bean Bowls:
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Peel the sweet potato and cut it into 1 inch cubes (as best as you can for the shape of a sweet potato).
- Cut the bell pepper and red onion into 1 inch pieces.
- Place all of the cut sweet potatoes and veggies into a baking sheet, add the olive oil, salt, and pepper, and toss everything together so that it’s all well coated with the oil. Spread everything into an even layer, trying not to have them touch each other. (Keeping them separate will let them brown more easily.)
- Bake them for 30 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are fork tender.
- While the sweet potato and veggies are baking, cook the brown rice according to the directions on the box and then set it aside.
- To plate each serving, add brown rice to each plate, top with half of the cooked roasted sweet potatoes and vegetables, half of the black beans, half of the chopped avocado, and (optional) fresh cilantro and lime juice on top. Then top each salad with some of the lime cilantro yogurt dressing.
Ingredients for Lime Cilantro Yogurt Dressing:
- In a food processor, add the cilantro leaves, yogurt, garlic, honey, lime juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper, and blend until it’s smooth.
Source for Sweet Potato and Black Bean Bowls: Tina’s Chic Corner
Lime Cilantro Yogurt Dressing adapted from: Clean Food Crush
