Maria MarloweThese stuffed sweet potatoes will brighten up your dinner table. It’s a new twist on the old baked potato!
Filled with a mix of kale, quinoa and chickpeas, and dressed in a lemon-herb tahini dressing, these filling, healthy stuffed sweet potatoes can serve as an appetizer, or double it up for a meal.
EXPERT TIP from The Real Food Grocery Guide: Sweet potato skins are highly nutritious, and edible, so consider purchasing organic and eating the skin, which will become perfectly crispy in this recipe. The skins provide a plethora of nutrients, vitamins, and minerals, including Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, potassium, and iron, as well as fiber. Choosing organic helps you avoid agricultural chemicals, dye, or wax.
They’re also great to batch cook and reheat throughout the week, so you can save time in the kitchen and enjoy a jazzy, insta-worthy meal.
Benefits of Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
Kale: One of the most nutrient dense and anti-oxidant rich foods available, this cruciferous vegetable supports our body’s naturally detox processes.
Chickpeas: One cup of chickpeas provides a hefty 12.5g of fiber, and whopping 14.5 grams of protein. This makes them filling and satisfying. They also provide iron (appx. 26% of our recommended daily intake (RDI) per cup) copper (29% RDI per cup) and manganese (84% RDI per cup), minerals that help keep our energy high.
Sweet potatoes: One serving provide about 7 grams, or 26% DV, of fiber, supporting healthy digestion and elimination. They can also help keep acne at bay, thanks to the super high Vitamin A content.
Here’s the recipe:
Healthy Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients:
SWEET POTATO BOATS
4 sweet potatoes (ideally organic)
KALE CHICKPEA FILLING
½ cup quinoa
1 cup veggie broth
½ tsp. curry powder
1-2 tsp. avocado oil, coconut oil, or olive oil
¼ tsp. turmeric
¼ tsp. cumin
⅛ – ¼ tsp. cayenne
¼ tsp. black pepper
½ yellow onion, diced
½ bunch organic lacinto kale
1 ¼ cups chickpeas (1 can)
LEMON HERB DRESSING
4 Tbsp. tahini
3 Tbsp. lemon juice
4 Tbsp. water
1 clove garlic, peeled
½ cup basil, chopped
½ cup parsley, chopped
¼ tsp. salt
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Using a fork, poke holes all around the sweet potato (about 6-8 pokes for a medium potato).
Slice it in half, place cut side down on a baking sheet, and bake for 50 minutes. Remove and let cool 5-10 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the quinoa and veggie broth, and bring to a simmer. Then, reduce heat to low and cover, allowing to cook until all liquid is absorbed, 10-12 minutes.
Continue making the rest of the filling: heat a large pan over medium heat. Add avocado oil to coat. Then, add the spices, and let cook for 30 seconds, until fragrant, and then add onion and kale, cooking for 5-7 minutes, or until onion is translucent and kale is wilted. Stir in the chickpeas, and let cook another 2 minutes or so. When quinoa is done, add that to the pan and mix well. Remove from the heat.
Make the lemon herb dressing: combine all dressing ingredients in a bullet blender, and blend until smooth.
Assemble and Serve!
When the sweet potatoes are cooled, flip them over and place on a plate. Use a fork to mash and scrape out a little bit of the flesh to make room for the filling. (You can reserve it for another recipe, mix it into the filling, or just eat it on the side). Spoon the filling into each sweet potato. Drizzle with dressing before serving.
About the Author: Maria Marlowe is an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach who has helped thousands of people improve their health by optimizing their diet. She has created meal plans and programs to help you lose weight, clear up acne, and spend less time in the kitchen yet still eat healthy.
She has been featured in Vogue, The New York Times, NBC, Well + Good, and more. Her first book, The Real Food Grocery Guide, will teach you how to eat healthy without going broke.
Check out her site, www.mariamarlowe.com, or follow her on Instagram @MariaMarlowe and Facebook for more healthy recipes.