BAKED NACHO POTS

These Baked Nacho Pots have been an absolute winner with so many of my clients kids and I know there's nothing better than finding a meal that is healthy and will happily feed the whole family. Beans are a great way to enjoy a meat-less meal as they are packed full of fibre and provide a good source of protein. If you find yourself bloated or gasey after beans try soaking and cooking them from scratch which I find makes a big difference. Like usual, I have packed in as many vegetables as possible (they won't even know!), and the pots are served with natural yoghurt in place of sour cream and some guacamole for healthy fats.

The recipe calls for a small jar of mexican salsa because I know not everyone will have time/the effort to make their own so if you do buy it, then look for a good quality one with wholefood ingredients but if you want o make your own blitz  1kg tomatoes, 1-2 hot chillies, 1/2 small red onion, 1 garlic, a good handful of coriander, 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar, juice of half a lime and and some salt and pepper. Use about 1/2 cup of this mixture.

Serves 4

Ingredients

4 individual 1 cup baking pots
2 x wholemeal pita breads
1 x can kidney beans, rinsed, roughly mashed
½ onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
½ green capsicum, diced
½ red capsicum, diced
1 small jar Mexican salsa
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon chili flakes (or to your liking)
2 tomatoes, diced
4 tablespoons grated tasty cheese
2 corn cobs 
4 large handfuls of spinach leaves
1 avocado
1 lime, zest and juice
4 heaped tablespoons thick natural yoghurt

Directions

Heat the oven to 180°C. Cut the pita breads into triangles the size of chips. Drizzle over some extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper and bake in the oven until crispy – approximately 15-20 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat a large fry pan to medium heat, add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and cook the onion for 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic and continue to cook until fragrant.  Add the kidney beans, green capsicum, red capsicum, salsa, paprika and chili flakes and cook until the vegetables are tender and beans are heated through. In each pot place ½ cup bean mixture, ¼ of the chopped tomatoes, and sprinkle over some cheddar cheese. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until the cheese melts.

Steam the corn until just tender (I also like to then grill it until slightly charred). Add the spinach to the steamer until just wilted. Cut the corn kernels off each cob. Mash the avocados with the juice and zest of the lime plus some salt and pepper to make a guacamole. 

Once the cheese has melted in the pots, remove and top with ¼ of the guacamole and top with yoghurt. Serve each pot with pita chips, wilted spinach and corn.