By Rip Esselstyn
This recipe is from Rip Esselstyn’s new book My Beef With Meat. It is a #1 New York Times bestseller and was released May 14, 2013. It was inspired by Steve Hall
These quesadillas are a regular with the E2 plant-strong Hall family. They are simple to make and very satisfying. The Halls suggest eating them with a big green spinach salad and a red pepper for maximum iron absorption.
Makes 4 large quesadillas
Ingredients:
1 large sweet potato
1 cup brown rice, cooked
8 ounces vegetarian, no added oil, refried beans
1 cup salsa
1 cup fresh spinach
8 ounces black beans, drained and rinsed
¼ teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon chili powder
¼ teaspoon cumin
1 jalapeño pepper, diced (optional and HOT)
6-8 whole wheat tortillas
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 375ºF.
2. Prepare a sheet pan with parchment paper.
3. An hour before you plan to eat, peel and quarter the sweet potatoes.
4. Bake sweet potatoes in the oven for 45 minutes to one hour, until soft.
5. In the meantime, prepare rice in a rice cooker or on stovetop as directed.
6. Remove sweet potatoes from oven and toss into a mixing bowl .
7. Mash sweet potatoes with the salsa, rice, and fresh spinach.
8. Place sweet potato mash in a sauce pan and mix in black beans and refried beans, heating mixture thoroughly over medium heat .
9. Add onion powder, chili powder, and cumin to taste and stir.
10. Place a tortilla in a frying pan on medium heat, and slather the side facing up with sweet potato and bean mixture .
11. Add jalapeños if desired.
12. Place another whole wheat tortilla on top of the first.
13. Press down on the top tortilla with a spatula, then cook in the pan for about 3 minutes.
14. Flip the tortilla with the spatula and cook the opposite side for 3 minutes more. Voila!
15. Cut into the desired number of sections. Serve topped with salsa and guacamole.
Tip: Try using your favorite beans instead of black beans.
Rip Esselstyn is a mission-driven man. As a swimmer at the University of Texas at Austin, he was a three time All-American. As a professional athlete, he was one of the premier triathletes in the world for more than a decade. As a firefighter for the Austin (TX) Fire Department, he helped people and saved lives. As a friend to other firefighters, he transformed the way Austin’s Engine 2 ate to save firefighters’ health. Now, as the author of The Engine 2 Diet, he is teaching people the irrefutable connection between what they put
in their mouths and their ability to reach their ideal weight and their ideal health. Recently, he has teamed up with Whole Foods Market as a Healthy Eating Partner to raise awareness for Whole Foods Market team members, customers, and all of America about the benefits of eating a Plant Strong diet composed of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds.
Rip comes from a family steeped in medicine. His great-grandfather, George Crile, co-founded the world-renowned Cleveland Clinic, where his father, Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr., was chief of the breast cancer task force and completed one of the most extensive studies ever conducted on the relationship between the heart and diet–proving that a plant-based diet can stop, prevent, and even reverse heart disease.
Rip serves on the Board of Directors for The Wellness Foundation, EarthSave’s Meals For Health Program, and the AllergyKids Foundation.
