In a world where we’re encouraged to bite off more than we can chew, I think it’s crucial that we take time out to step back and assess whether this is a step in the right direction or a convenient direction. When I started out this advent for clean eating, I thought it would be a lot harder than I’m finding it right now. Now, while I occasionally do find myself having food fantasies (I gave into one and had the most amazing lamb shank biryani- recipe anyone?) for the most part I do feel like it’s reinstilled what I’ve always believed: it’s always important to learn where your food comes from and whether it arrived ethically.

While I had no trouble substituting meat for vegetables, I was finding it hard to cope with the low-carb crashes. And there is no kind way to say this but… how many different ways are there to stir fry greens? My guilty pleasure and constant food craving is potatoes of any kind. This week I decided to put a spin on the “loaded” trend and try and recreate a more nutritious sweet potato skins. They’re usually filled with fatty cheese (if it’s not paneer then I’m not likely to care anyway) or some other such over processed ingredient. These are guaranteed to meet your more-ish cravings if you are vegan and if not, well they’re a great way to make sure you’re getting plenty of the good stuff!

Servings: 4-6 servings
Prep+cooking time: 40 mins

Ingredients:

2-3 medium sweet potatoes
1/2 can drained chickpeas
1/2 cup garden peas
1/2 cup diced red pepper
1/2 cup onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp olive oil
pinch of salt, pepper, cumin and paprika
Instructions

1) Preheat the oven to 200C/450F and prepare your vegetables.

2) Wash sweet potato and slice lengthways in half.

3) In a pan of boiling water, boil the sweet potatoes on high heat for 15 minutes or until the centre is soft.

4) Scoop out the sweet potato and leave the skin intact. Mix in the mash with the rest of the vegetables. Sprinkle a generous amount of seasoning as well as olive oil.

5) Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until the skin has become crispy around the edges. Top it with hummus or serve as it is!

This piece was published with permission and was originally featured on goldentiffin.com