Sweet Potato and Black Bean Rice Bowl

One of my favorite go-to dinners is a mexican rice bowl of sorts with any kind of veggies and beans thrown in and topped with salsa and cheese.  It is so easy and fun because you just toss in whatever you have on hand (this is a great idea for leftovers!), add some mexican flare to it and boom- you have a tasty and well-balanced one-bowl meal.  This time I wanted to make it extra special and seasonal by adding roasted sweet potatoes and fresh black beans that I got from the farmers market. Sweet potatoes are such a sweet treat during the fall, a staple of my diet, as well as at my family's thanksgiving dinner. They are an excellent source of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory nutrients, such as vitamins A, C and B6, manganese, potassium, iron and fiber; but even more importantly the taste is out of this world and they add so much color to any meal. This rice bowl is especially colorful with the brown rice, black beans, bright orange sweet potatoes and red salsa. So pretty it was hard to take a bite out of... okay maybe it wasn't that hard :-)

SWEET POTATO AND BLACK BEAN RICE BOWL

INGREDIENTS:
(makes about 4 servings)
2-3 medium sweet potatoes
1-2 tblsp olive oil
salt/pepper
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
2 cups of black beans, cooked (preferably from fresh or dry, but canned works)
4 cups of brown rice, cooked
Additional toppings (be creative!): salsa, hot sauce, shredded cheese, cilantro

DIRECTIONS: 
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Wash and chop sweet potatoes into bite-size cubes. Arrange on a cookie sheet and cover with olive oil and spices.

3. Roast for about 30-40 minutes until golden brown.
4. Heat up the black beans and rice and portion into bowls.
5. Add the sweet potatoes once they are done roasting and top with salsa, cheese and any additional seasonings to make it your own personalized mexican rice bowl- just the way you like it! ENJOY!