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Pumpkin and Black Bean Empanadas

I love empanadas! These are hearty, healthy and flavorful. Make them asap. Feel free to substitute mashed sweet potato for the pumpkin. This recipe makes a lot of filling, so you may have leftovers—serve it with tortilla chips as an appetizer.

Pumpkin and Black Bean Empanadas, adapted from Vegan Yack Attack

Ingredients

Crust

2 cups flour

4 tablespoon cornmeal

4 tablespoon olive oil

4 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup water

Filling

Tbsp. Olive Oil

1 Large Onion, Diced

3 Cloves of Garlic, Minced

1 1/2 Cup Red or Orange Bell Pepper, Diced

1 cup Tomato, Diced

1 can pumpkin

1 14 oz. Can No Salt Added Black Beans, rinsed and drained

1-8 oz. Can Tomato Paste

1 Jalapeño, Minced

2 tsp. Chili Powder

1 tsp. Smoked Paprika

1 tsp. Cumin

1/2 tsp. Cayenne Pepper

1/4 cup Cilantro

3/4 Cup Daiya Cheddar Shred

Directions

Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium. Once hot place onions and garlic in pan and cook until the onions are clear, making sure to stir almost constantly. Next, add the bell pepper, tomato and pumpkin to the onions; saute together for roughly 5 minutes. Then add beans to the pan along with the tomato paste, jalapeño, and spices.

Let it simmer for 5 minutes while you make the dough: Combine all of the crust ingredients, except the water in a bowl and mix until it looks like coarse meal. Add a little bit of water at a time, mixing until the dough comes together in a ball (I added less than a cup of water).

Sprinkle the Daiya Cheddar Shreds throughout the pumpkin mixture and stir together so that everything is mixed well, and lower the heat of the pan to low-medium until the shreds are a little melted.

Sprinkle a bit of cornmeal on the work surface and rolling pin so the dough doesn’t stick. Divide the dough into 8-10 balls and roll out each into 7″ circles that are about 1/8″ thick.

Place the filling on one side, leaving about an 1/2 inch edge, do not over stuff. Carefully bring the other side over the top and press along the edges to seal. Repeat with the rest of the dough.

Place the pockets on a well-oiled baking sheet and brush the tops with olive oil. Bake for about 20 minutes until the top and edges are lightly browned and warmed through.

Posted February 9, 2012 at 1:27 pm 40 notes

#healthy eating#empanadas#yumm

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Today is National Popcorn Day (Well, it’s really up to debate, but the common day to “celebrate” it is January 19th).

Here’s a healthy popcorn recipe courtesy of Lava Magazine:

National Popcorn Day is as good an excuse as any to pass along our “recipe” for our favorite evening snack. As any hard-working triathlete knows, that special breed of munchies that strikes after 7 p.m. are some of the hardest to resist.

A small bowl of this inexpensive snack, popped in coconut oil (now deemed a healthy fat), will satisfy your cravings with low-fat, low-sodium style. According to The National Popcorn Board, plain air-popped popcorn has about 31 calories a cup, while plain oil-popped corn contains about 55 calories per cup. (We find the below ratio to work well, but basically, the more oil you use, the fluffier your popcorn.)

A sprinkle of nutritional yeast (a sugar-, dairy-, and gluten-free source of protein and B-vitamins) adds a nutty, almost cheesy flavor. Find it in your health food store or in the bulk aisle. Trust us: you’ll never make microwaved popcorn again.

Recovery Popcorn

Ingredients

½ cup organic yellow popcorn

2-2 Tbsp coconut oil (cheaper on Amazon, we like Nutiva Organic extra virgin)

Optional: spray coconut oil

2 Tbsp nutritional yeast

Sea salt

Preparation

Place coconut oil in a large saucepan, or if you have one, a Whirley Pop. Turn the element head to medium, and add three kernels of corn. When the kernels pop, add the rest of the popcorn, and increase the heat a touch.

If using a Whirley Pop, turn the handle a few times; if not, shake the pot a little to mix the oil and kernels. Let the corn pop away until popping slows, remove from heat and dump in a bowl.

For more “stick power,” spray popcorn briefly with spray oil. Top with nutritional yeast and sea salt. Enjoy!