Everyone needs a good side piece right? And dinner is no exception.

Here in Chicago it’s flipping freezing and all I want to do is dive face first into a pile of mac and cheese or mashed potatoes.

BUT- I’m going somewhere that requires a bikini for my birthday in two weeks and packing on extra winter lbs right now would be no bueno.

I try to eat 80% healthy and 20% “fun”…so coming up with healthy swaps is something I’ve been doing for a while.

Don’t worry- TheWifeyKitchen isn’t a health or diet blog- but I still like to throw in some low calorie recipes here and there. Cause hey- a Wifey’s gotta keep it tight , keep it right!

But back to that comfort food craving- after dreaming of mashed potatoes for at least an hour, I forced my brain to go to a healthier place and the Edamame Side Piece Potato Mash was born.

I used to be super afraid of words like “blender” and “food processor” and avoided recipes that used them…then I tried blender recipes and realized they were 10x easier. So don’t be scurrrred.

This mash is not only super duper healthy (the two V words *vegan and vegetarian* apply) it also is the perfect swap for fat filled mashed potatoes.

It makes a kick-ass side dish for dinner and looks a little fancy pants.

Per usual it’s simple. And cheap. Muah- let’s get wife’ed up!

Edamame Side Piece Potatoes, makes about 4 servings

WHAT YOU NEED: 

• 1 cup of shelled edamame – you can use part of a frozen bag or fresh edamame that’s been shelled
• 1/4 cup of pinto beans
• 2 medium to small potatoes
• 3 tbs olive oil
• salt and pepper

WHAT TO DO: 

• fill two separate pots with water and heat till they boil
• cut the potatoes in half, then quarters

• put a cup of edamame in one pot and the potatoes in the other and stir them every few mins until you can stick a fork in the potatoes and they are soft and edamame is also soft

• while those are enjoying their hot tub, layer your 1/4 cup pinto beans and  3 tbs olive oil in the blender…add salt and a dash of pepper.
• drain the pots and continue to layer until every ingredient is in your blender

• add more salt and a squeeze of lemon if you want
• I used the puree button until things looked combined and whipped like this:

• serve immediately , I used an ice cream scoop to make it look a little cool. You could also use a plastic ziplock , cut a hole in one end and squeeze it on the plate like a real diva…I say go for it.

Note- I added more salt at the end, but I really love my salt. You may not need to – OR you may want to add something else to yours…garlic? onion? Go on and get wild wifeys!

Note 2.0- My friend Lindsay requested I make a “grocery list” area so she can snap shot it on her phone, and pull it up easily at the grocery store. Your wifey wish is my command:

SHOPPING TIME!

• BAG OF FROZEN EDAMAME- SHELLED OR FRESH SHELLED EDAMAME. FROZEN- FOUND IN FROZEN VEG SECTION, SOMETIMES IT CAN BE WITH ORGANIC FROZEN. FRESH- IN VEG ISLE- USUALLY WITH THE CUT UP AND PACKAGED PRODUCE
• CAN OF PINTO BEANS- LOCATED IN THE ISLE WITH THE OTHER BEANS
• 2 MEDIUM POTATOES- LOCATED IN THE VEG ISLE NEAR ONIONS AND POTATOES
• OLIVE OIL- IN THE OIL/SPICES ISLE