Tuesday, September 8, 2015

Stuffed sweet potatoes with tahini, sun dried tomatoes and paprika

Meal planning. Are you for it or against it? I've tended to be neutral in a sounds-good-but-it's-beyond-me kind of way. However, with the move and longer commuting times, I'm giving it another go. I suspect the meal plans will be flexible and variable, but we'll see how things work out!

One of the meals on our new plan (and a meal we had quite often before too) is stuffed jacket potatoes. I love British potatoes and the way they're called 'jacket potatoes' when baked and stuffed (in Australia I just called them 'baked potatoes').


I tend to alternate between regular potatoes and sweet potatoes because I love them both. Here, sweet potato was the perfect match for tahini, sun dried tomatoes, paprika and nutritional yeast. It is a combination I recommend and one I'll be making again.

This meal concept is on our meal plan because it is quick and easy. It's probably not a dish you'd serve at a dinner party, but it is a dish you'll want mid-week (especially if the weather is cool!) for maximum satisfaction and a good dose of nutrition with little effort and simple ingredients.


I've given ingredients for one, but you can make as many of these as you like.

Stuffed sweet potatoes with tahini, sun dried tomatoes and paprika
A satisfying but healthy mid-week meal
Serves one; increase portions as needed

Author: Bite-sized thoughts


Ingredients
1 medium-large sweet potato (a meal sized one)
1 tbsp tahini
~4 pieces of sun dried tomato (the sort you buy in a jar), roughly chopped
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp onion powder
Pinch salt
Dash peppper
1 tsp + 1 tsp nutritional yeast, divided

Salad or other sides, for serving

Method
Microwave the sweet potato on medium-high heat for 6  minutes, until just cooked (or cook to the same point in the oven). Allow to cool slightly while you heat the oven to 200'C / 390'F.

When the potato is cool enough to handle, cut in half and scoop the flesh into a bowl. Add the tahini, chopped sun dried tomatoes, paprika, onion powder, salt, pepper and 1 tsp nutritional yeast to the bowl and mix through.

Scoop the sweet potato mix back into the potato skins and scatter the remaining nutritional yeast over the top.

Bake for approximately 15 minutes, until crispy.


So - meal planning, yay or nay?

22 comments:

  1. I love meal planning, it works really well when I stick to it and I find we all eat better plus having leftovers cuts down on cooking/prep stress!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are clearly a testament to it working in that case!

      Delete
  2. You have reminded me that I love jacket potatoes and forgot to even make them. Perfect combo. My meal planning involves making sure I have a few ingredients and then leaning on the open fridge door till I think of something

    ReplyDelete
  3. I don't think I am good at meal planning - though I usually have a vague idea of what I will make or even plan an exact recipe but I can also be swayed with what I see in the vegies. I love the sound of these esp as I just bought a punnet (not sure it that is the right word) of sweet potatoes

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't know if it's the right word either but I know what you mean :-) And I think my usual meal planning style is like yours - a bit vague and on the day!

      Delete
  4. I am big in to meal planning as it saves us a ton of money and I like knowing what food I am going to eat so I can look forward to it haha.
    I love stuffed sweet potato - so comforting.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I like the looking forward to aspect of your routine! That is a bonus of meal planning I hadn't really thought about.

      Delete
  5. I am definitely pro meal planning, even though I haven't been that great at following it lately! I do happen to have a love of potatoes on hand...defintiely need to try this!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Normally I let the produce spirit guide me, I love to whip something up with whatever we have around, although I'm sure meal planning would make things a bit easier!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Letting the produce spirit guide you does have a nice ring to it though :D

      Delete
  7. My meal planning involves making one meal for the week on the weekend! Your sweet potatoes look delish- I am a fan of the yam.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I used to do the one meal for the week thing but then Mr Bite came along and wasn't a fan :D I often do that for lunches though!

      Delete
  8. I'm not much of a meal planner - I tend to just shop on the day for what we'll need that night. I do wish I could be more organised and plan a week of meals but the numbers of who will be at each meal fluctuate immensely and always at the last minute. I do love a stuffed jacket potato for dinner! xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I can understand with your household that meal planning could be tricky!

      Delete
  9. I'm definitely a meal planner. And, a once-a-week shopper for groceries. I don't know why I don't bake sweet potato to stuff though. This must be remedied immediately. They're on the meal plan for next week :-)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Kari, I saw your sweet potato recipe link on Johanna's IMK post and couldn't resist checking it out. (Loved the ingredients listed there and was delighted to discover the name "jacket potatoes" here.) Thanks! As for meal planning, I keep a "running list" (and half an idea, ha!) at all times -- what needs to be used first, what's in the fridge/freezer/pantry, and most importantly, what my hubby comes home "hungry for." (Things are subject to change on short notice and I'm keen on what can "keep" until the 'morrow -- plus I like to offer him options.) I like your flexible approach!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm so glad you stopped by and love your own flexible approach to meal planning :-) A running list is a nice way of keeping on top of what needs to be used up. It does sound like your husband gets more choice than mine though!! ;)

      Delete

I genuinely appreciate all comments and the time taken to post them. Occasionally, I may need to restrict commenting to registered users in order to halt large volumes of spam. If that happens, I will lift the restriction within a week.

Want other ways to interact? Bite-sized thoughts is on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/bitesizedthoughts) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/bitesizethought).