Mediterranean Stuffed Sweet Potato

Haven't you heard? It's Fiber February, which means I'll be sharing a new fiber-based series for the next five days for you to enjoy. As your favorite gut health dietitian, I wanted to brainstorm a series that not only provides you with fiber-based recipes, but recipes that are approachable and easy to make.

Quick educational recap: Fiber comes our plant-based sources of foods, our fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, and nuts/seeds. Our bodies do not digest fiber, so when fiber reaches the colon undigested, the trillions of bacteria that live in our gut microbiome will ferment the fiber and produce compounds called short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). These play a key part in our gut health, but also our overall health and well being. SCFAs have a role in our immunity, inflammatory responses, and digestive health. Beyond our gut health, fiber helps support regularity (aka making sure you're going) and promotes satiety, ensuring you stay fuller for longer.

So, for this Fiber February, I created my new series called, "Five Fibers, One Dinner". Since there are five different categories of fiber --

1. Fruits

2. Vegetables

3. Legumes

4. Whole grains

5. Nuts/seeds

I wanted to create five dinners that each contain all five fiber groups. For the next five days, you'll be provided a new dinner recipe that contains a fruit source, a vegetable source, a grain source, a legume source, and either a nut or seed. Of course I'm also focusing on other macronutrients, such as healthy fats and protein, to ensure you have a fully balanced meal. Oh, and let me not forget to mention that each day will be completely different sources of fiber, there will be no repeats! By Friday, you will have obtained 5 new dinner recipes and almost 32 different sources of fiber.

This is my way of teaching you that incorporating a diverse range of fiber within your day to day is possible. I want to teach you how to be more intentional about building balanced meals and being aware of the fact that all of these plant sources provide your body with more health benefits than you realize. Let's get more creative in the kitchen, shall we?

Our 2nd recipe of this five-day series: Mediterranean Stuffed Sweet Potato

---

My Mediterranean Stuffed Sweet Potato is the dinner that my vegetarian and vegan friends were waiting for during this series -- because obviously I'm not leaving them out. As I've said plenty of times, eating animal based foods and plant based foods are not mutually exclusive. This recipe is also a great option for my people who want to increase their plant intake in a delicious and flavorful way.

I've always loved the concept of a stuffed sweet potato because the options of toppings are endless. You can mix and match ingredients to your liking. This time around, I made a Mediterranean version and it tastes like a summer dream. The main filling are chickpeas and quinoa, while the toppings are cherry tomatoes, olives, tahini drizzle, and fresh dill. It combines five different sources of fiber, while also providing your body with the macronutrients it needs from any balanced meal -- protein (chickpeas and quinoa), carbs (sweet potato), and healthy fats (olives and tahini).

I'd like to mention that this is a recipe that you could easily meal prep for any week ahead. You can have the cherry tomatoes, olives, chickpeas, and quinoa all prepped on a weekend, and once you want to make it for dinner, all you have to do is bake the sweet potato in the oven, that's it!

Here are the details:

1. Fruit source: Cherry tomatoes and olives

2. Vegetable source(s): Sweet potato

3. Legume source: Chickpeas

4. Whole grain source: Quinoa

5. Nuts/seeds source: Tahini

Yields: 1

Portion: 1 sweet potato

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 35-45 minutes

Total time: 1 hour

This recipe is vegetarian, but can be easily made vegan without the addition of the feta.

---

Ingredients:

1 sweet potato (or two - the recipe is enough for two)

Quinoa:

1 cup of quinoa (any quinoa works)

2 cups of water or broth (vegetable, beef, chicken, or bone)

½ tsp salt

Filling:

1 15oz canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 cucumber, finely diced

10 cherry tomatoes, halved

¼ cup halved kalamata olives

2 tbsp crumbled feta

1 tbsp finely chopped dill

1-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Juice of 1 lemon

Salt to taste

Black pepper to taste

Optional: red pepper flakes

Garnish:

1 tbsp tahini

Fresh dill

---

Instructions:

1. Bake sweet potato: preheat the oven to 425. Prep the sweet potato and poke holes into it with a fork. Bake in oven for 45 minutes, or until the sweet potato is tender. Once the sweet potato is done cooking, gently remove from the oven. Slice a line down sweet potato and gently open to mash.

   
   

2. Prep quinoa: Place quinoa in a fine-mesh strainer and rinse thoroughly under cold water for about 30 seconds. This removes its natural coating, which can taste bitter. Set aside to drain. In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, add the rinsed quinoa and pour in your chosen liquid (water, broth, or a mix). Stir in salt. Bring the mixture to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low, cover with a lid, and let it simmer for about 12-15 minutes, or until all the liquid has been absorbed.

   Once the liquid is absorbed, turn off the heat but keep the lid on. Let the quinoa sit covered for 5–10 minutes to steam and fluff up. Then uncover and fluff with a fork before serving.

   
   

3. Prep filling: in a bowl, add in 1 cup cooked quinoa, ½ cup chickpeas, halved cherry tomatoes, chopped cucumber, halved olives, feta, and dill. Pour in olive oil, lemon, and season with salt and black pepper. Mix filling well.

   
   

4. Assemble & serve: place the halved and mashed sweet potato in a plate. Add half of the filling you've made and save the rest for later or for another sweet potato. Garnish with fresh dill and drizzle on tahini. Taste and adjust for salt. Enjoy!

Recipe Notes:

• Add protein: Add grilled chicken, tofu, salmon, or an extra scoop of chickpeas or quinoa if you want a higher-protein meal.

• Flavor swaps: Don't have dill? Try parsley, mint, or basil. No feta? Goat cheese or a dairy-free alternative works if you follow a dairy free lifestyle.

• Grain options: Swap quinoa for farro, brown rice, or couscous depending on what you have.

• Make it spicy: Add red pepper flakes, chili oil, or a pinch of cayenne.

I hope you love this recipe as much as I did, so if you do, please leave me a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! I always read through my suggestions and comments, so please let me know your thoughts. If you have any questions you can feel free to DM me here or through Instagram. Speaking of Instagram - please tag me in all of your creations! I love seeing how the recipes come out and seeing how talented you all are. Sending my love.

xoxo,

Jasmin D the RD