Scott and I have been talking about going "meatless" at least one night a week for awhile now but never really went through with it. However, it came up again during our hiking trip and we decided that it is definitely something we want to try and start this fall. It will make us try new dishes and experiment with more ingredients and flavors. The main things we talked about were dishes made with black beans and quinoa. We love ordering these dishes at restaurants but for some reason just never make them at home!
We obviously aren't vegetarian or vegan but sometimes we just get tired of eating meat. When most people think of protein they think of meat! We need to re-train ourselves to think of black beans, quinoa, chia, spinach, chickpeas, broccoli, etc. Plant based foods are capable of providing sustainable nourishment during our outdoor activities such as hiking, cycling, running, skiing and more. Plant based foods are generally more convenient than animal based foods and provide a variety of macro and micronutrients to help fuel these activities. Realistically, you can't take a piece of raw meat in your backpack and grill it up at a campsite, but you can easily cook oats or feast on nuts and berries without the worry of spoilage or contamination.
When Silk reached out to us to take the #MeatlessMondayNight challenge we knew it was a sign! For this challenge we decided to make a side dish that would be good to take to a football party or just enjoy at home! I had a major craving for sweet potato fries so we made Sweet Potato Wedges (the really thick "fries"!) and a Chipotle Ranch Dip/Dressing to go along with them! It turned out so good and was perfect as a football snack!
Sweet Potato Wedges
Ingredients:
- 2-3 Sweet Potatoes, washed and cut into thick wedges ("fries")
- 1/2 - 1 Tbsp Coconut Oil, melted
- sea salt and pepper, to taste
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Wash and cut sweet potatoes into thick wedges
- Place on cookie sheet covered with aluminum foil (for easy clean up) and pour melted coconut oil over sweet potatoes. Season with sea salt and pepper.
- Cook for 20 minutes. "Flip" (turn over or shuffle) the sweet potatoes and cook for 20 more minutes.
Chipotle Ranch Dip/Dressing
Ingredients:
- 1 Tbsp Parsley
- 1 Tbsp Dill
- 1 Tbsp Basil
- 1/4 - 1/2 tsp Chipotle Pepper Spice
- 1/2 tsp Sea Salt
- pinch of Black Pepper
- 2 Tbsp Onion, finely chopped
- 1 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 tsp Minced Garlic
- 1 large Avocado
- 1-2 - 1 cup Silk Cashewmilk
Directions:
- Peel and slice avocado, add to blender (we used a Vitamix).
- Add all other ingredients except for Silk Cashewmilk to blender.
- Slowly add Silk Cashewmilk to blender, starting with 1/2 cup. Add up to 1 cup, depending on your desired thickness.
We had a great time creating and eating this meatless dish! I challenge you to a #MeatlessMondayNight this football season! Let us know what you create! Visit www.silk.com/sidelinemeat for more recipes!
This conversation is sponsored by Silk. The opinions and text are all mine.