This is one of my favorite go to meals to whip up when I am tired, lazy, or just don't feel like cooking. As I am the only full time vegan in my household, I turn to dishes like this that are easy to make for one person that are healthy without fuss on a regular basis. It is also one of those things that I eat to make me feel better when I feel physically off. It is satisfying, tasty, free of gluten and loaded with power nutrients. As yams can be cooked in a microwave in roughly 10 minutes, it is the sort of meal that is of a busy single person's dreams.
Yams are loaded with beta carotene, vitamins C and B6, and are high in dietary fiber. This healthier potato has high levels of antioxidants that have shown to help reduce blood cholesterol, fight cancer, and reduce menopausal symptoms.
Kale is packed with vitamins A and C, iron, calcium, folate, B6, and fiber. It is one of the perfect foods. Tomatoes
are a good source of Vitamins A, C, K, folate and potassium. They are
high is fiber, beta-carotene, and the antioxidant lycopene making them a
powerhouse to enjoy. Combined with extra virgin olive oil (or another
healthy oil), lycopene is a known fighter against pancreatic, prostate,
breast, and colon cancers.
I was plating this while we were getting ready to sit down for dinner the other night and my husband commented on my meal to our kids saying, "poor mommy and her yam." That statement couldn't have been more wrong. Just looking at the rainbow of ingredients you know that it has to be great.
| Sweet Potato Stuffed with Kale and Tomatoes | |
| Serves 1 or 3-4 as a side dish. Multiply the ingredients to serve more people. | |
| For all ingredients, please use those that are organic or grown without pesticides. | |
| 1 | medium size garnet yam |
| 4-6 | leaves lacinato kale, center veins removed and sliced into 1 inch strips |
| (lacinato kale is also called dinosaur kale or cavalo nero) | |
| 1 teaspoon | extra virgin olive oil |
| pinch | red chili flakes |
| 6-8 | cherry tomatoes, halved |
| sea salt | |
| freshly ground black pepper | |
| For the perfect yam, heat the oven to 425 F. Baking it in the oven will take about 1 hour. Cooking them in a microwave on high will take about 10 minutes. The extra time to wait is worth it. | |
| Scrub and clean the yam or yams. Use the tines of a fork to puncture several holes in the potatoes to prevent it from exploding. | |
| Put it on a baking pan lined with parchment paper (for easy clean up) and bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour or until it is softened and the juices released are beginning to caramelize. | |
| If using a microwave, wrap the yam in a paper towel and cook on high for about 10 minutes. | |
| About 5 minutes before your yam is ready, heat a medium size saute pan over medium high heat. Add the olive oil, chili flakes, and tomatoes to the pan. Cook for about 2 minutes and add the kale. Cook for another few minutes until the kale just begin to wilt. Remove from heat. | |
| Slice the potato in half, give it a squeeze, and pour the hot vegetables over the flesh of the yam. | |
| Serve immediately. | |
