Do you love nachos? Of course you do!! But you probably don't love all the fat and calories and general unhealthiness of a plate of loaded nachos made with the traditional fried tortilla chips. Well, here's a way for you to enjoy your favorite appetizer made with low fat cheese, light sour cream and good-for-you avocado and black beans all sitting on a base of homemade baked sweet potato chips!! It is knock-your-socks-off-good!!

I've always thought of nachos as a once-in-a-while guilty pleasure--something you order when you got out with friends and sort of end up regretting later on. But these sweet potato nachos are actually good for you and can become a regular thing--something my family is quite happy about right now, if only they could stop stuffing their mouths long enough to express their extreme pleasure!

First thing you do is slice up a bunch of sweet potatoes very thinly (it's super easy if you use a mandoline), coat them with a bit of oil, salt and pepper and bake them so that what you wind up with are essentially baked sweet potato chips. They're amazing just as is and you'll probably have to slap away many hands (including your own) if you want to have enough for a large plate of nachos.

The rest is a snap--you top the sweet potato chips with black beans, shredded cheese, and anything else you like and then pop it into the oven for a few minutes so that the cheese melts and everything gets deliciously gooey!! Then top with avacado, hot sauce, scallions, sour cream or any other of your favorite toppings!

And careful when you set the plate down, because if you walk away for a minute, there may be none left when you turn back! Trust me, I speak from experience!!

Amazing Sweet Potato Nachos

Serves 4 people, but I bet my son could easily eat the whole plateful!!

Prep Time: 25 minutes: Bake Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 3 large sweet potatoes, washed

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• Salt and pepper to taste

• 1 1/2-2 cups lowfat cheddar cheese

• 1 cup black beans, rinsed and drained

• 3 scallions, chopped

• 1 ripe avocado, pitted and sliced

• Hot sauce (optional)

• Light sour cream (optional)

The Recipe

1.  Using a mandoline (or a very sharp knife and a good cutting board) slice sweet potatoes, very thinly, about 1/4 inch thick. Place them in a large bowl and toss with the olive oil and salt and pepper. 

2.  Preheat oven to 400ºF. Line two baking sheets (more if you need them) with the rounds of sweet potato making sure they are only in one layer and do not overlap. Don't crowd them or they won't cook properly. Bake for 15-20 minutes, checking often, as these can easily go from being browned to burned. When the rounds look browned around the edges, flip them over to crisp on the other side for a few minutes more.

3.  Remove the pan from the oven and transfer the sweet potato chips to an ovenproof plate. Top with the black beans and the shredded cheese and return to the oven for 5-8 minutes, until the cheese is melted. Sprinkle with the scallions, shake on a few drops of hot sauce, and top with the avocado slices and sour cream. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Note:  Recipe based on http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/loaded-sweet-potato-nachos/.  I left out the cilantro and used low fat cheese and light sour cream.