Fully Loaded Sweet Potatoes | A Go-To Weeknight Dinner

Nothing screams summer quite like a picnic table dinner session, especially when you top it off with these fully loaded sweet potatoes.

OK, you’re right, the dog days of summer may be coming to an end, but stay strong… hit up a park to eat at a picnic table this week! Do it.

It’s liberating.

And what would be better than some ooey-gooey, caramely, delicious sweet potatoes to bring on your excursion?

Well, THAT…

Plus … rice, beans, guacamole, salsa and creamy cheezy cashew sauce with a side of corn and a big ol’ salad!

That’s my kinda dinner.

A throw-it-all-together kind of thing.

Feel free to add or subtract from the toppings listed to make your own pile of yum. Or, if russet potatoes call your name, use those instead.

These goes divinely with a big salad of cucumbers, tomatoes, peaches, green onion and romaine tossed with Nutty Miso Dressing.

Benefits:

• Sweet Potatoes are the staple food of some of the longest living people on this planet, the Okinawans. They’re packed with beneficial carbohydrates, fibre, vitamins A, C and D. They’re a complex carbohydrate that won’t spike your blood sugar, but will fuel your cells with clean burning energy.
• Avocados in the guacamole will give you the essential fatty acids your brain thrives on.
• Cashew ‘Cheeze’ Sauce will replace the typical dairy cheese. No one needs that. By avoiding dairy, you’ll lower your chances of heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. You’ll also avoid allergic reactions, inflammation, indigestion, hormones and antibiotics. So, here’s a way to replace your cow cheeses with nut cheeses.

Time: 1 hour

Serves: 4 (Double it so you have left overs!)

Ingredients

• 4 Sweet Potatoes
• 1 cup rice
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed (or soak your own, and cook them up)

Guacamole:

• 1 avocado
• Juice of 1/2 a lime
• 1tsp garlic powder

Salsa:

• 5 roma tomatoes
• 1/2 cup cilantro
• 1/2 red onion
• 2 garlic cloves

Cheezy Cashew Sauce:

• 1/2 cup cashews, soaked at least one hour in water
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 cup-1 cup water (depending on how thick or thin you’d like it)
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar

If you want to go the extra mile add this too!

Garlicy Maple sautèed mushrooms:

• 8 crimini, portobello or white mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 cup of the Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette
• 2 cloves garlic, pressed/minced

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Cook rice: Rinse, put in pot with 2 cups water. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 45 minutes.
3. Cook potatoes: Poke holes in sweet potatoes with fork, place on parchment paper covered pan. Put in oven for 45 minutes.
4. Sauté mushrooms (EXTRA MILE, but very tasty!): add water to medium-hot pan, add garlic for 1 minute, add mushrooms and dressing, let simmer, stir every 5 minutes for about 10 minutes.
5. Make Cheezy Cashew Sauce: Blend all ingredients in blender.
6. Make Salsa: Pulse all ingredients in blender or food processor.
7. Make Guacamole: Mash all ingredients in a bowl with a fork.
8. Assemble: Layer your ingredients starting with your potatoe! Sweet potato-rice-beans-guac-salsa-cheez sauce and VOILA!