A new beginning: Flavorful Fridays!

I’m not sure I’ve talked much about my health before. Let me tell you some things today. My family has a history of diabetes, high cholesterol (which can be genetic), high blood pressure, and, if you haven’t guessed, obesity.

You know those smoking commercials that say “It stops with me”? Well, I adopted that model when it comes to my health.

I don’t want any of the above I mentioned.

That said, my blood pressure has the tendency to be high because of my anxiety (which I am managing with therapy and a positive attitude!). I was also an obese child and I was made fun of a lot. At the moment, I’m not even the smallest I’ve ever been, but I like my size and my doctor says I am healthy.

You have to maintain health, though, which means you eat right and you work out! Last year (that would be in May of 2012), I decided to change my health for the better. I began to exercise regularly (at the moment, I spend an hour on cardio, and have been doing the 30 day shred, it will kill you, but it is fun!). I also changed eating habits. Yes, I mean…I have experimented with healthy recipes for the past year and I haven’t found one I hated!

So I am going to begin sharing these recipes here and whatever workouts I begin, or my progress to become a healthier me!

We’ll start with something I made last week: Sweet Potato, Black Bean and Kale Quesadillas. I know what you're thinking. Why in the world would I eat something with sweet potatoes, black beans, and kale?! And it probably has cheese (it does)?!! Gross!!

NOT SO. 

These are my new favorite quesadillas. I found the recipe here.

Now, I added my own modifications because...well, I didn't have a lot of cumin and I had no chili powered, and I don't think if I have them when I make them make them again I'll use it. My ingredient list was as follows: sweet potatoes (3 medium), kale, onion, black beans, pepper, and a bit of cheddar cheese. I added a little bit of the cumin I had, and I used whole wheat tortillas and topped them with organic sour cream.

They were delicious...something about the mixture is just...well, perfect!

My quesadilla

Now, mine obviously isn't as pretty as the one on the other blog, and you can see my finger in the upper left-hand corner, however, I'm sure it tasted just as good! I also have a quesadilla machine (coolest flea market find ever), so they come out all perfect and crispy!

Here's some reasons why you should eat sweet potatoes: 9 Reasons to Eat More Sweet Potatoes
Here's some reasons why you should eat kale: 5 Reasons to Eat Kale

So, would you try this quesadilla?