Whole 30 Day 1: Stuffed Sweet Potatoes with Creamy Dressing

Happy New  Year!  As promised, here is the first recipe for your Whole 30 Clean Eating challenge! This recipe comes from one of my favorite Paleo recipe bloggers, Danielle Walker - Against All Grain.  Her recipes are great and this one is a winner!  We make this at least once a month.

This recipe right here is our FAVORITE recipe that is Paleo and Whole 30.  It tastes best with the goat cheese, but you will need to omit that to be Whole 30 compliant.  Honestly, you won't miss it for this period, but do go back in and add it in later.  It is delicious.

If you are not familiar with Humboldt Fog goat cheese, you can find it locally at Central Market.  It tastes just like bleu cheese and I find it easier to digest than cow's milk cheese.

I usually put several chicken breasts in my Instant Pot on Sunday afternoons.  I cook them with chicken broth, salt, and pepper and then shred them for various recipes and lunches for the week,  in order to save time.  For this recipe, just take about 3 cups of the shredded cooked chicken and simmer it with the spices as noted below in the recipe instructions, for them to absorb the flavors.

If I were you, I would make a double batch of the ranch type dressing that is in the recipe.  It will make it easier to enjoy snacks, salads, crudités, etc.  I add a bit of dill to the recipe, as well.

Paleo mayo is found at Central Market, locally, as well.  You can also find it here to order.  You can also make your own Paleo mayo, but I find the less I have to prepare the better.  It is bit more expensive than traditional, but clean and allowed on the Whole 30 challenge.

Stuffed Sweet Potatoes with Creamy Dressing

AUTHOR: Danielle Walker - AgainstAllGrain.com 

SERVES: 4

PREP TIME: 20 mins 

COOK TIME: 40 mins TOTAL TIME: 60 mins

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 medium sweet potatoes, scrubbed
• 1 tablespoon ghee or coconut oil, melted
• 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt or kosher salt

Filling:

• 3 boneless, skinless chicken breast or thighs, about 1 pound
• 1/2 cup cayenne pepper hot sauce - I use Tessamaes.  Cholula (found at Costco) is close to compliant, but has a tiny amount of xantham gum.  
• 1/3 cup ghee or coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 teaspoon white vinegar
• ¼ cup celery, diced
• ¼ cup carrots, diced

Dressing:

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup coconut milk
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• ¼ cup crumbled Humboldt Fog goat cheese (optional, omit for Whole30)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 400° F. Rub the skins of the potatoes all over with melted ghee and pat them with sea salt. Prick them with a fork a few times and place on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper or foil. Bake until tender, about 40 minutes.
2. Make the filling: Bring the chicken breasts, cayenne pepper hot sauce, ghee, sea salt, cayenne pepper, and white vinegar to a simmer in a pot. Cover and simmer on low for 25 minutes until the chicken is fully cooked.
3. Meanwhile, make the dressing by placing all of the ingredients in a bowl and whisking to combine until the big crumbles of cheese are broken up.
4. Shred the chicken breasts with a fork and add the celery and carrots to the pot with the excess sauce. Put the shredded chicken back in the pot and cook on medium heat for 10 minutes.
5. Cut slits in the tops of the cooked sweet potatoes and open them up a bit with a fork.
6. Spoon the filling into the cooked sweet potatoes, top with the Creamy Dressing and serve.