Baked and Chili-Stuffed Sweet Potato
A hearty and healthy alternative to a baked potato
How to get the best of both worlds. Put the chili inside a baked sweet potato, of course!
Estimated time: 1 hour
Effort/Skill: Medium
Makes 6-8 servings
Ingredients & Directions
Chili - grab the recipe here
3 large sweet potatoes
1 tbsp avocado oil
Vegan parm
¼ cup of raw almonds
¼ cup nutritional yeast
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp onion powder
Dash of salt & pepper
Chili - prepare according to the recipe
Sweet potatoes
Poke 8-10 holes in each sweet potato. Rub oil on skin of sweet potato and bake at 400F for 45-60 minutes.
Fill them up!
Once the chili is cooked and so are the sweet potatoes, fill up ½ of each sweet potato with chili and top with vegan parm or your favourite vegan cheese substitute. Bake at 425F for 3-5 minutes until the cheese melts. Enjoy!
NOURISHED FACT
If you missed out on the pumpkin pie, you’ll likely want to try that out and while you’re at it, be sure to learn more about vitamin A.
This time, I want to go beyond the botany and nutrition and get into the need for comfort food as the cooler weather hits.
At this time of year, more than any other month of the year, I feel stressed. School is back in (or is it in 2020?) and work projects are huge. People change routines and that means they need extra help. And when we can’t get the help we need, we reach for comfort in the form of food.
Our bodies tend to flood with cortisol and when that happens, you might notice a sudden wish for carbs, sugar, salty snacks, fatty goodies. Then the dopamine kicks in after we’ve indulged. We get the reward from our brain that says “thank you, that was just what I needed and I’ll be sure to come back for more!” (1)
Carbs have the ability to boost our serotonin levels, giving us a mood lift after we take in those carbs.
Is this a bad thing? Not at all. When we make the choices unconsciously, then we may recognize that our patterns are disrupted. But if we’re reaching for some pasta or chips at the most stressful parts of our year, month or week, it’s to be understood. I give myself the banana test sometimes. Am I so hungry that I am willing to eat the banana right in front of me? If my answer is no, then I grab a glass of water and take my mind towards another focus. Often times, it’s boredom for me that I’ll reach for a snack. Or habit. If my brain says Yes, eat the banana - then I eat the banana.
Easier said than done though. Remember to not be hard on yourself. Enjoy the treat when you need to, take it slow. But also remember that a chocolate chip cookie is not therapy.
(1)https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/emotional-eating-triggers_l_5c61c803e4b028d543169e60
