Healthy eating

Sunday, June 19, 2011

What you hear right now is the collective sound of my readers’ jaws hitting the floor.

Today’s recipe is not a dessert.

I’ve given you no reason to believe this, but I do eat healthy food.  Dessert is only one part of the food I enjoy. My perfect meal would be a simple, healthy entrée that lets me enjoy a dessert without guilt.

This is such an entrée.  Perfect for this time of year, it bursts with all kinds of fresh produce.  With the yellow of the corn and the red and green of the peppers, it’s radiant with the colours of summer.  Going forward, I hope to post the occasional quick and easy main course recipe, although I promise there will still be lots of baking.

The recipe was originally from Canadian Living magazine, and I’ve adapted it slightly to compensate for the person in our house who can’t eat raw tomatoes.  (Uh, that would be me.)  Feel free to use a chopped tomato instead of the red pepper.  But I think the recipe is pretty great exactly the way I made it.

Black Bean and Smoked Cheese Quesadillas

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed well
1/3 cup corn kernels, boiled 1 – 2 minutes
1 red pepper, diced
1/3 cup diced sweet green pepper
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1 cup shredded smoked Cheddar cheese
4 large flour tortillas
2 tsp olive oil
½ cup salsa

In large bowl, combine beans, corn, red pepper, green pepper and green onions.  Divide among halves of each tortilla, sprinkling with cheese, and fold uncovered half over filling.

Brush large skillet with half of the oil and heat over medium heat.  Cook 2 quesadillas, turning once, until golden and crisp, about 6 minutes.  Repeat with remaining quesadillas.  Serve with salsa.

40 comments:

GratefulPrayerThankfulHeart said...

Wonderful flavors make up this Quesadillas recipe. I think it sounds delicious!

Carol said...

This sounds fantastic, I love the flavors in your quesadilla. Never thought to use smoked cheese, great idea.

Ruth said...

Now that sounds amazing!!! I will try it for sure. I like colourful meals too - mum always said the more colour, the healthier it is. :)

Rita said...

What a great addition to my luch recipe. We love bean salad so adding it to make a quessadilla is just perfect.
Rita

Mary said...

I love black bean and corn salad, but have never tried it in a quesadilla. It does sound like the perfect lunch. I try to eat pretty healthy too, but it's usually dark by the time I get anything made, meaning I can't take a picture. So, my blog looks like I live on sweets!

Lorraine said...

Sounds wonderful and healthy! Just what we all need:)

Deniz Bevan said...

Sounds yummy! I love anything with peppers and cheese :-)

Valerie Gamine said...

Wow! I love all those bright bursts of colour! After enjoying something so light and healthy, I can easily see why they'd be room for dessert. :D

Belinda said...

Haha...nothing wrong with dessert! Great meal.

Gloria Baker said...

Beth this look absolutely delicious, I love!! Gloria

Lydia Kang said...

I'm glad you're mixing in some savory recipes with your usual desserts. This one looks great!

Unknown said...

Beth, this sounds so delicious! I love black bean anything....it's fantastic to mix in some savory recipes...I need to follow your lead on that!

Joanne said...

What a great summer recipe. I'm looking forward to your recipes using all the great fresh veggies from my local farmstands ...

Susanne K. Fletcher said...

Wow Beth BAKER. What a pleasant surprise. You know I love your love of baking, but kudos to you for showing your healthy side. Let me know if you need any new ideas for healthy nutritious recipes - or even subtle ways to hide ground flax in your baking!

Beth said...

Thanks, Susanne! I thought you might approve....
I made salmon with flax seed this week. Maybe it'll show up on my blog sometime!

Emily Malloy said...

Oh my this has me quite hungry at the moment :)

Janet Johnson said...

LOL! I have been enjoying your dessert recipes though.

Looks yummy!

Kristen said...

I don't usually post healthy recipes, either. This one looks lovely.

Anonymous said...

Now this is a recipe I can sink my teeth into. I like every ingredient. I'll print this one and try it this week. Thanks!

Jeanne said...

It's always good to keep your readers on their toes! A healthy meal just means that you get to eat more dessert later, right? These quesadillas look fabulous.

Anonymous said...

YUM! It was very cool to see a healthy recipe on your blog :)

Chain said...

I dont see this as a part of a healhty meal, it needs more sugar and saturated fat :)

Emma said...

Nice, my kind of lunch Beth! Love the colourful flavours :)

Susan Fields said...

What lovely colors - and it sounds so healthy!

chow and chatter said...

this looks wonderful my kind of meal :-)

Angie's Recipes said...

It looks not only healthy but also very flavourful!

Sharon K. Mayhew said...

That looks wonderful! I do something similar, but I use feta cheese. :)

Anonymous said...

It looks yummy, and vegetarian. :)

Joanne said...

I'm always looking for more healthy recipes to add to my arsenal and this quesadilla sounds fantastic!

Sweet And Crumby said...

Looks like a perfect summer lunch! Can't wait to try it.

Victoria said...

Love your healthy quesadilla recipe! I know it's not baking, but I don't mind :) I am a quesadilla fan through and through, and also a lover of black beans in pretty much any every way. Hope you're having a great week so far!

Jess said...

These look gorgeous and delicious~ perfect for summer! You can't eat raw tomatoes??? You poor thing! I love fresh tomato/basil/sweet onion/mustard sandwiches :)

Velva said...

This does look delicious! I love fresh tomatoes but, the rest of my family can't do tomatoes either.

Cheers.
Velva

Amy said...

Quesadillas are always delicious, but yours look especially good filled with all those veggies! Almost like a colorful confetti quesadilla!

Reeni said...

This is bursting with vibrant colors and great flavors! I'm a quesadilla lover and black beans are one of my favorite fillings.

Barbara said...

I make a black bean salad similar to this, but have never put it in a quesadilla. Great idea, Beth!

shaz said...

Hi Beth, your introduction was pretty funny because I actually did a double take and checked to make sure I had the right blog as I had multiple tabs going at once! I do believe you though, eating healthy is the best excuse to enjoy dessert ;) The quesadillas look fresh, bright and summery. Perfect.

tinajo said...

Haha - well, the more healthy food one eat, the more opportunity to eat desserts! I think this looks delicious! :-)

Anonymous said...

I was a little confused when I saw the tortillas, and wondered if I clicked on the wrong link. :)But, wow! Those quesadillas look awesome. I look forward to seeing another side of your cooking.

Anonymous said...

This sounds fabulous! I think a lot of us dessert lovers balance that out with healthy main dishes.

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