10-Minute Dinner: Stuffed Baked Potato
This recipe is one of my favorite 10-minute plant-based dinners. It falls into the category of what I call my “back-pocket meals”- i.e. those meals that I can make in minutes and don’t even have to think about. (Spoiler alert: egg scrambles fall in there too). This particular one uses staples that I nearly always have on-hand in the house, is whole-food and plant-based, is incredibly inexpensive, and is a winner all around for our home. I love that it so beautifully illustrates a few concepts that I am always encouraging my clients to understand:
1. Eating well doesn’t have to be expensive or time-consuming.
2. Simple foods can be filling and delicious.
3. Potatoes are awesome.
I really do love potatoes of all kinds, and I think that white potatoes in particular are given a really bad name these days. I see all kinds of fear-mongering on the internet not to eat them because they are starchy and contain carbs. Yeah, that’s kind of why they are awesome! They are a fantastic, fiber-filled, high-potassium (like, more than a banana!), naturally gluten-free (if you need that), self-contained little energy bomb. When prepared well, eaten in reasonable portions, and paired with other good proteins and healthy fats, they can be a great addition to your table. Of course, sweet potatoes work great for this dish too, so if those are more to your liking, go for it. Just please, whatever you do, don’t fear the mighty potato.
- 1 medium-sized potato (variety of your choice)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup frozen broccoli
- ¼ cup black beans, from a can that has been drained and rinsed
- ½ cup of spinach, or greens of your choice (frozen or fresh, but if frozen may want to do 1 cup)
- Seasonings of your choice
- 1 tbsp of hot sauce
- Sprinkle of feta cheese (or nutritional yeast if vegan)
- Scrub your potato well, pat dry, and poke with a fork in a few places.
- Cook the potato in the microwave until softened and cooked through, usually about 7-10 minutes depending on size.
- Optional: Finish the potato off in the toaster over to crisp it up a bit if desired.
- While the potato is cooking, saute the frozen broccoli, spinach, and beans in a pan in 1 Tbsp olive oil and any seasonings you desire.
- Once everything is heated through, top the potato with the bean, spinach and broccoli mixture.
- Top with hot sauce and feta cheese, if desired.
