Recipe: Dressed to the Nines Sweet Potato

From the Vitality Food Feature ‘Digestive Healing and Recovery from Crohn’s Disease‘.

This is one of those awesome, simple family meals that will make everyone happy because they get to customize their own sweet ’tater. This recipe also offers both protein-powered Paleo and vegan options, so everyone wins. It works great as a main event dish for dinner, and I personally love having half of a dressed sweet potato for breakfast and finishing the rest for lunch the next day.  (Serves 4)

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 45 – 60 minutes

Ingredients

• 4 organic sweet potatoes
• 2 Tbsp avocado oil, coconut oil, or organic ghee
• ½ red onion, diced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• One 14 oz can organic beans of choice, drained and rinsed*
• 6 cups greens, trimmed and sliced into ribbons
• 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• ¼ teaspoon Make-Your-Own Sambal (see The Undiet Cookbook, page 206), or red pepper flakes, or your favourite hot sauce
• Sea salt

1) Preheat the oven to 400°F. Scrub the sweet potatoes and prick them in a few places with a fork (this gives them room to breathe as they bake). Place them on a baking sheet and bake until soft all the way through, 45 minutes to 1 hour.

2) While the sweet potatoes are baking, heat the olive oil in a medium pan and add the onion and garlic. Cook until soft. Add the beans and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3) Remove from the heat and stir in your greens (the heat will wilt them). Add your lemon juice, sambal, and sea salt to taste.

4) Remove the sweet potatoes from the oven. To serve, slice each sweet potato through the middle and top with beans and greens mix and your optional add-ons.

5) • Optional Add-ons:

6) – Hemp seeds (protein bonus)

7) – Toasted sunflower or pumpkin seeds

8) – Fresh sprouts

9) – Tempeh bits (prepared using TLT Deluxe Sandwich recipe (The UnDiet Cookbook, page 83)

10) – Tahini Dressing (The UnDiet Cookbook, page 194)

11) (*Make it Protein-Powered! Swap the beans for 1 lb pastured, organic protein of choice such as ground beef, chicken, or turkey. Cook the meat just until browned, and then use in place of the beans.)