Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

When dieting people tend to avoid starchy and heavy foods when really they should be accepting them with open arms. Nutrient dense food keeps you full longer and is jammed packed of amazing health benefits! There are so many ways to play with this fun colored vegetable and change the flavor and texture to keep it new and interesting. I love sweet potatoes for all the previously mentioned benefits but also because they are so easy to take with you on a trip and heat up in the airplane oven or your hot logic. Hot meal and nutritious meals are priceless when you are away from home and traveling for days. 

What is the difference between a sweet potato and a yam?

When I talk about sweet potatoes, I get a lot of questions that always complicate things. What is the difference between a yam and a sweet potato? THIS BLOG has some very interesting historical information on the differences. According to Delishably, "Sweet potatoes are a starchy tuber native to the Americas that is distantly related to a potato. Sweet potatoes in the US come in two varieties: one with a creamy, white interior and the other with an orange interior.
Yams, on the other hand, are a tuber native to the tropical regions of Africa and Asia. They generally have darker, bark-like skin on the outside and vary in color on the inside from creamy white to purple. They contain no starch."

So now that we know the difference between a yam & a sweet potato and we can focus on the fun stuff!
How to eat them! 

I am absolutely obsessed with all 5 of these breakfast stuffed sweet potatoes. They are filling and nutritious and perfect for on the go. You can make your sweet potato ahead of time and wrap in tinfoil and put all the stuffing ingredients in a small glass container or also in tin foil and then mix it all together when you are ready to eat them. 
1) PB&J Stuffed Sweet Potato has chia seeds, peanut butter (which can easily be replaced with your favorite seed butter), bananas, raspberry chia jam, & strawberries. 
2) Cinnamon Apple Stuffed Sweet Potato with almond butter, cinnamon baked maple apples, coconut yoghurt, and pecans.
3) Southwest Scramble includes black beans, tofu scramble, cherry tomato, salsa, and cilantro. 
4) Double Chickpea Hummus with kale, crispy roasted chickpeas and tahini. 
5) Pesto White Bean with walnut pesto, avocado & tomato. 

This gorgeous taco stuffed sweet potato can easily be made into a vegan treat by adding replacing the ground beef with your favorite meat substitute. Some people love soy chorizo, my favorite is the beyond meat hot Italian sausage. 
This recipe is great because it also includes how to make your very own fresh salsa. You can't beat that! 
To take this on the road, wrap the precooked sweet potato in tin foil or in a glass Tupperware and keep the topping and salsa separate. Add the topping to a glass to go container and heat up with sweet potato in the airplane oven or your hot logic. Once those are warm, top the sweet potato with the taco mixture and then add salsa on last with avocado. 

You can also make this a breakfast taco by adding in some scrambled eggs. Also, if you aren't sensitive to beans, black beans would be a great addition to this stuffed pepper! 

This Steak Fajita Stuffed Sweet Potato makes my mouth water just looking at it! 
It would be so delicious with my favorite creamy avocado dressing:

• 1 large avocado
• 1 clove garlic, peeled
• 1/2 tablespoon fresh lime or lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons olive oil or avocado oil
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper, or to taste
• water, as needed (I add up to 1/4 cup)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a mini food processor add the peeled clove of garlic, avocado, lime or lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper.
2. Process until smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides a few times. Thin the salad dressing out with a little bit of water (1/4 cup or more) until it reaches a desired consistency.
3. Keep in an airtight container for at least a week, but 3 to 4 days is best.