Dessert Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

It’s not the first time I’ve incorporated vegetables into dessert, especially sweet potatoes, and and sure won’t be the last. Today’s recipe may have you giving yourself a face palm to the forehead, thinking “that’s so easy why didn’t I think of that!”… or thinking “McKel, this is just weird”. These stuffed sweet potatoes are filled with delicious whole food toppings and ingredients to take an already delicious sweet potato to the next level, dessert! Who else can say that along with dessert, they also had fiber, vitamin A, potassium, and a bit of protein and healthy fats from the toppings?

I love using sweet potatoes in sweet dishes and dessert recipes for the obvious reason, they’re naturally sweet, starchy, and perfect for using as a base in baking or like in this recipe. Sweet potatoes are rich in vitamin A (beta-carotene which gives it that beautiful orange color), fiber, carbohydrates, potassium, vitamin C, manganese, copper, and B vitamins. Actually, they’re one of my absolute favorite carbohydrates, especially if you’re really active like I am- muscle fuel all the way (grrr!).

Sweet tooth? I often have clients and readers ask me what they can do about their sweet tooth that often hits them at night, one thing we discuss is the overall diet and importance of balancing macronutrients throughout the day, the second is to have a game plan or a healthy alternative to otherwise processed/calorically dense desserts out there. I love my desserts and chocolate, so this recipe came completely natural to me years ago when I was craving something filling, hearty, yet sweet- these stuffed sweet potatoes easily hit all of those categories.

Nutrition. If you’re being conscious of the macronutrients or calories in this recipe, it’ll all depend on what you top it with and the size of the sweet potato. I love adding cinnamon to sweet potatoes for the flavor balance, but also because ground cinnamon works to help stabilize blood sugars, try adding it to any carbohydrate rich foods to get some of the benefits of cinnamon.

This recipe couldn’t be more simple, you literally are baking a sweet potato and filling it with these sweet whole food toppings of your choice. My favorite part about making this recipe is baking the sweet potatoes until all the natural sugars start oozing out of the skin, hitting the baking sheet and caramelizing- that’s when you know your potato is done. I also have a lot of fun mixing up the toppings and switching it up a bit, my favorite is tahini with dark chocolate chips or cacao nibs and a dash of cinnamon. I’m listing some awesome combinations that are delicious and tested by me and my clients all over the world- some of their favorites have inspired these!

Topping options // goji berries, almonds, walnuts, hemp seeds, flax seed, nut butters, protein powders (mixed with almond milk to thicken), organic dark chocolate chunks, shredded coconut, cinnamon, nutmeg, Sweet Cream, Raw Caramel, spirulina, fresh fruit, BanaNO Cream, and much more! If you’re unsure of what some of these ingredients are, be sure to check out my Pantry page and click on the image to learn more!

STUFF IT | 

• McKel’s favorite // tahini + dark chocolate chips + dash of cinnamon
• Protein rich option // 1 scoop of protein powder (like Sunwarrior vanilla) mixed with a little almond milk until thick, dolloped on top + dark chocolate chips
• Green protein // mix 2 tablespoons spirulina powder mixed in 1-2 tablespoons of cashew or almond butter + shredded coconut
• Sweet Cream + fresh strawberries
• Caramel delight // Raw Caramel sauce + shredded coconut + dash of cinnamon
• Fall Harvest // stewed apples + cinnamon + sprinkle of walnuts
• The Sundae // BanaNO Cream + dark chocolate chunks + nut butter + Raw Caramel drizzled on top (for the indulgers out there!)
• Tropical // goji berries + Coconut Whip + dehydrated bananas

If you like these Dessert Stuffed Sweet Potatoes, I think you’re going to also love the Cinnamon Sweet Potato Truffles and Flourless Blackberry Chocolate Cake, both of these dessert recipes contain sweet potatoes and you’d never know it!

I hope you give this one a try, I know it can seem odd at first incorporating a root vegetable like a potato into your desserts, but trust me… so worth it! Show me your creation and type of stuffed potato you like by using #nutritionstripped

xx McKel