While I am a huge fan of eating, lunch sometimes feels inconvenient. We want easy, delicious, and convenient. But that seems like an impossible task when you are also committed to clean eating. Behold, I share with you the pesto stuffed sweet potato, an easy AIP lunch! (can I get an amen?). What I love about this meal is the AIP/Paleo pesto that keeps all the flavor of original pesto without the nuts or dairy. The pesto stuffed sweet potato is the perfect easy lunch for anyone AIP, Paleo, or just looking for healthy meal options.
Welcome to the Lunch on the go series: Easy AIP Lunches
Like I said, easy fast meal ideas are hard to come by. So I’ve created this short series of easy clean eating ideas for busy people. All meals are designed to be prepared in 15 min or fewer. Make sure you don’t miss out on the Mediterranean salad or turkey burger.
If you are loving these recipes you can get my lunch on the go recipe book 100% free. It includes 3 recipes from the blog and 2 exclusive recipes plus a shopping list for each meal. Basically, it’s a work week of AIP easy lunch ideas. Click here if you want in.
Ok, back to our original programming…
Tips to make this an easy AIP lunch
This easy AIP & Paleo lunch is designed to be made in 15 min or less, so here are a couple of tips to help you speed up the process:
- To cut down on the cooking time make sure to buy cooked chicken*
- If you do not have a baked potato you can easily cook it in the microwave or an instapot. In the recipe I give instructions on how to bake your potato in the microwave.
- Balsamic vinegar adds a lot of flavor to the AIP pesto, but If you do not have balsamic vinegar (which you should have it because it is delicious) you can substitute 1 tsp White Vinegar and ½ tsp Honey.
Lets get this easy AIP lunch started!
Baking the sweet potato
Baking potatoes can take forever but they are so delicious. When I was in college I learned the amazing powers of the microwave to cook just about anything. Let me tell you, desperate times call for desperate measures. Anyway I discovered that you can bake potatoes in the microwave. My mind was blown and my life was never the same.
When you cook a sweet potato in the microwave you want to consecrate it, that is, make it holy. The more holes, the better. So, start with a clean sweet potato, take a fork and stab the potato until satisfied (so whatever has been frustrating you lately, think about that thing and then get after it.). Once you have appropriately poked your potato, you will swaddle it in paper towels and rinse it in the sink. You want your potato to be nice and soggy so that it will not dry out in the microwave.
Pop that bad boy in the microwave and cook it for 4-5 min (depending on the strength of your microwave). Do this process 2-3 times, checking between each interval to make sure the paper towels are still damp. If your paper towels dry out you’ll need to rinse the potato again. The potato will be done when it gets to your preferred squishiness. So, just squeeze it to check if it’s cooked. You can also poke it with a fork to check its consistency.
Once your potato is cooked, let it cool then split it down the middle. Take a fork and mash the sides a little, drizzle with oil, and season with some salt and pepper.
Chicken Pesto
Ok, ladies and gents this is the part I am most thrilled about– the AIP pesto. This is a real feat considering two-thirds of normal pesto is cheese and pine nuts.
While you have the potato cooking go ahead and start on your super tasty pesto. The process for this pesto is actually fairly easy, but you will need a blender. You could also use a food processer, but I don’t think it will reach the same smooth consistency.
You are going to take all the ingredients (except the chicken, because that would be weird) and dump them into a blender and blend. That’s really pretty much it.
But for those who like more instructions, add the spinach, basil (stems and all), garlic, olive oil and balsamic vinegar in a high powered blender or food processor and blend until smooth-ish. It will still be a little chunky, and that’s good. As you blend you will want to stop every so often to scrape down the sides so everything blends evenly. You may need to add more olive oil if you are having trouble blending the ingredients.
After your pesto has reached perfection mix it in with the shredded chicken and top it on your cooked sweet potato and voila! You have finished.
Pesto Stuffed Sweet Potato (AIP, Paleo)
Ingredients
Baked Sweet potato
- 1 sweet potato
- 1-2 tsp olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
AIP Pesto
- 1/2 cup spinach
- 1 oz. fresh basil
- 2 cloves fresh garlic
- 2-3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp balsamic vinegar
- 1/3 cup cooked chicken
Instructions
For the sweet potato
- To cook the sweet potato start by poking holes in a washed sweet potato with a fork. The more holes the faster it will cook.
- Wrap potato in paper towels and rinse in sink. You want your potato to be nice and damp so that it will not dry out in the microwave.
- Cook the potato in the microwave for 4-5 min. Do this process 2-3 times, checking between each interval to make sure the paper towels are still damp. The potato will be done when it is soft to the touch (I don’t know a better way to say it, but when you squeeze your potato it should be squishy). You can also poke it with a fork to check its consistency.
For the AIP Pesto
- Add the spinach, basil (stems and all), garlic, olive oil and balsamic vinegar in a high powered blender or food processor and blend until smooth (DO NOT ADD THE CHICKEN!).
- Stir every so often and scrape sides to make sure you get an even blend. You may need to add more olive oil if you are having trouble blending the ingredients.
- Once the pesto is done add to the shredded chicken and mix thoroughly.
- Split potato down the middle and add salt and olive oil to taste, next top with the chicken pesto, and voila! You have finished.
Notes
- To speed up the process make sure to buy cooked chicken.
- If you do not have a baked potato you can easily cook it in the microwave. You can follow the instructions above in the blog post.
- If you do not have balsamic vinegar (which you should have it because it is delicious) you can substitute 1 tsp White Vinegar and ½ tsp Honey.
