If anyone tells you a vegetarian diet is not versatile enough to satisfy every taste, that person has never tried sweet potatoes. Not all that long ago, I used to think sweet potatoes were for Thanksgiving and that’s about it. But now, I think they are as limitless as pizza toppings.
I have a plethora of sweet potato recipes, so it was difficult to narrow it down to just a couple to use for the Conservation Fitness Guide. I have recipes for spinach and artichoke sweet potato, a curry sweet potato, and even a taco-inspired sweet potato. There are other recipes where I use sweet potatoes- salads, stews, dosas, and even gnocchi. But tonight, I decided to go Mediterranean.
Tonight was day three of our vegetarian week. Yesterday was a vegan day, so today I eased up and allowed some dairy products with our meals. So this sweet potato meal influenced from Mediterranean flavors does have feta cheese, but the main flavors come from the other toppings.
Sweet potatoes are terrific for people on the go, too. If you have a crockpot, just poke a few potatoes with a knife, place them in a crockpot, cover with about 2-3 cups of water, set on low, and leave for 6 hours or so. Longer if needed, they won’t lose their flavor, they’ll just get soft. This method is great for those who don’t have time to bake sweet potatoes, but it also has a conservation impact as well.
Baking potatoes takes a long time. It’s not cheap on energy to heat up a large oven and maintain that heat for over an hour while baking small objects like a potato. Throwing them in a crockpot is not just easier on you, it’s easier on the earth. Crockpots are Mother Earth’s gifts to those who like to eat green.
Making this stuffed sweet potato is easy as pie. Dinner will be ready within twenty minutes with this easy recipe.
Mediterranean Potato 2 servings- 389 calories, Carbs: 55.6g, Fat: 12g, Protein: 11g
Ingredients
- 2 large sweet potatoes
- ½ cup pitted kalamata olives, chopped
- ½ cup roasted red pepper, chopped
- 4 oz feta cheese
- ½ tsp oregano
- 1 cup hearty tomato sauce
- Olive oil and salt and pepper to taste
Directions
- Prepare sweet potatoes by piercing them several times for venting. Place in a crockpot and pour 2-3 cups of water over potatoes until they are mostly covered. Set crockpot on low and leave for 5-6 hours.
- Mix olives, red pepper, and oregano in a medium sized bowl.
- Spoon mixture onto potatoes. Pour tomato sauce over mixture. Sprinkle with cheese and more fresh oregano. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
As for the rest of my day, here’s the low-down:
I try not to weigh myself everyday, because it really isn’t all that healthy for my psyche. But I did weigh myself today, on day 3, and I was pleasantly surprised. I’m not sure why I was surprised, but it was a pleasant sight. It read 183.4, which is 1.5 pounds down from day 0. The reason you also shouldn’t really weigh yourself every day is because you never really know what your body is carrying around one day to the next. So, is it absolutely accurate at 183.4? Was 185 accurate? Who really knows. But I’m happy the trend is downward, and not upward, at least.
Breakfast- Last of the Ginger-Pear Oatmeal Bake
Lunch- Remaining portion of Fried Rice
Dinner- Mediterranean Sweet Potato
Snacks: Homemade Protein Bars, Banana and Peanut Butter
Workouts:
CrossFit beginners class- substituted weighted glute bridges for front squats, because me and squats are not friends right now
Coached Masters Class- our new member who is in her late seventies did her very first burpee today! It was a proud moment for me.
ZooFit- The Roz, a Conservation Hero WOD honoring the late and wonderful Roz Sealy. Finished in 23:56
That was really yummy!