– Hey, everyone.
I've got a new healthybasics recipe for you today that is perfect forthese cold winter months and that's baked sweet potato.
Now, before you think ah, Ialready know how to do that, you might wanna stickaround for some of my tips and because I'm sneaking ina barbecue chicken-stuffed sweet potato recipe at the end.
For those of you doingthe January Whole30, this is a 100% compliant recipe.
And if you're not doing a Whole30, it's still a tasty, filling, and nourishing recipe that's perfect for any day of the week and especially on game nights.
So let's dive in.
Sweet potatoes come in avariety of shapes and sizes, thanks to Mother Nature.
But when you're makingbaked sweet potatoes, it's best to grab some thatare about the same size, whether that's long andskinny, small and round, or large and round.
Starting with sweet potatoesmore similar in size ensures that they'll bake at the same rate and you won't have some thatare undercooked or overcooked.
Sweet potatoes also come in many varieties so you'll frequently seean entire rainbow of colors in your supermarket or Farmer's Market.
The orange sweet potato is most common and oftentimes you'll see itinaccurately marketed as a yam, but yams are quite different and I chat about this on the blog post.
You can always jazz up yourbaked sweet potato recipe by using Japanese sweet potatoes that have a reddish skinand a white interior, purple sweet potatoes that are purple on both the outside and inside, and white sweet potatoes thatare cream-colored throughout.
To get started baking your sweet potato, preheat your oven to400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Then grab a baking sheet.
I highly recommend a heavy dutyor commercial baking sheet, if you don't have one, because it won't warp or bendlike cheaper baking sheets.
And I linked mine in thedescription box below.
Sweet potatoes also havea tendency to ooze a bit when baking, so my other tipis to line your baking sheet with parchment paper.
It just makes the wholecleaning process easier, and while some recipes have you wrapping each sweet potatoindividually in aluminum foil, that's definitely not necessary.
So I've got four sweetpotatoes about the same size and before I get to baking, I need to give them a good scrub.
While they've been rinsedbefore arriving at the market, they're not exactly clean and I don't think anyone wantsdirt or debris in their meal.
To give them a good wash, grab a vegetable brush like this one.
It's labeled as a vegetablebrush, which is a good thing, so it won't accidentally get mistaken for a kitchen or bathroom scrubber.
And it has both hard and soft bristles.
And since I know you guys are gonna ask, I've linked it below as well.
Wash your sweet potatoes under the faucet and gently scrub all the nooksand crannies of the potato until it's clean.
Then place it on a papertowel and blot it dry.
If you're cooking several sweet potatoes, just repeat this processuntil all of them are clean.
(bright music) Add the sweet potatoesto your baking sheet and then give them about five to six pokes with a fork or a sharp knife.
A lot of heat and steam builds up inside the sweet potato while baking, and while they're notquite as likely to explode in the oven as the microwave, it is better to be safe than sorry.
At 400 degrees Fahrenheit, the average sized sweet potato will bake in about 60 minutes, but as mine are larger today, they'll probably needabout 15 minutes more.
And you might need to flexyour bake time as well depending on the sizeof your sweet potato.
When the potatoes are almost done, I'll prep my ingredients for the barbecue chicken-stuffedsweet potato recipe.
This is an incredibly easy recipe and only requires ahandful of ingredients.
I'll start by slicing one red onion, and as I'm sure you guyshave gathered by now, I almost always slice theentire onion when I do so that I can store itin a container precut and use it in recipes throughout the week.
Then chop up some fresh cilantro.
If you're not a fan of cilantro, you can use a variety of other herbs like parsley or tarragon.
Now if you watch last week's video, you learned how to quickly shred chicken and I got a whole batch ofit ready to go in my fridge so I'll use that today.
In terms of barbecue sauce, I'm using this one from Primal Kitchen as it has wholesomeingredients, no added sugar, and is Whole30 compliant.
Because my chicken iscold from the fridge, I'm just gonna quicklyheat it up on the stove top and add about three cupsworth to a saute pan then pour the entire bottleof barbecue sauce on top.
If you like your chicken extra saucy, you might wanna buy two bottles.
To tell if your sweet potatoes are done, all you have to do is pokeone with a sharp knife.
It should go through like soft butter, so if you have any resistance, just cook your potatoesa little bit longer.
Let your potatoes sitfor a couple of minutes or until they're cool to the touch.
Then slice one in half and open it up.
It should be soft and steamy on the inside and from here you cansimply add a pat of butter, salt and pepper, and serveit up as a side dish.
But if you'd like toturn this into a meal, add some of that barbecue chicken on top, a few slices of red onion, and a generous handful of cilantro.
(bright music) And that's how easy it is to make these barbecuechicken-stuffed sweet potatoes.
I hope you guys enjoyed today's video, and if you did, make sureto give it a thumbs up as it helps to support my channel, and hit that Subscribe button below if you're not already subscribed.
And I will see you againin next week's video.
(bright music).
