Level of Effort: Easy 
Cost of Ingredients: $1.44
Nutrition Info (1 half): 189 calories, 8.4 g fat, 9.2 g protein, 3.7 g fiber, 19 g carbs

Chelsea over at The College Crumb recently asked a great question on her blog. She was interested in knowing how her readers dealt with eating poorly during stressful times (a.k.a. mid-terms). It made me think about how I’ve taken comfort in eating junk during times when my energy-depleted brain could have used something nutritious.

Recently my eating habits have changed, for the better, by applying a method Meb Keflezighi (2014 Boston Marathon winner) uses to train to win marathons.

Meb sets a routine by designating blocks of time in his calendar for training, recovery and nutrition. Here’s what he says;

Now I designate times in my calendar for work, play and eating a proper diet.

During each time block I only focus on the designated task. To remove distracting thoughts, while doing work I find difficult, I pay close attention to my breathing (like you would in a yoga class or on a tough run). It has improved my focus and I accomplish more throughout the day. It has also allowed me to designate time for two things I consider important in my life; recharging after a long day and eating a proper diet. 

Is eating nutritious food during stressful times important to you? What if you designated 15 minutes on your calendar to prepare a healthy meal? There are, of course, recipes to help you accomplish this and I’ll have 15 of them for you soon (stayed tuned). For now, I have these tasty super-sized Stuffed Sweet Potato Skins! All you need is a microwave, a few key ingredients, and 10 minutes of your time.

With sweet potato as the main ingredient, they’re nutritionally light-years ahead of Ramen Noodles, Hot Pockets or any fast-food meal combo. Top with melted cheese and you’ll have nutritious comfort food at your finger-tips and won’t have to worry about running a marathon to work it off!

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

1 medium sweet potato / $0.27
2 tbsp salsa / $0.23
1 tbsp low-fat sour cream / $0.06
1/2 tsp chili powder / $0.05
1/4 cup black beans or thawed frozen corn / $0.11
1 green onion, chopped (optional) / $0.16
1/2 cup shredded cheese / $0.56

Directions

1. Pierce holes in sweet potato with a fork in several places. Place on a plate and microwave on high power until tender inside, about 5 to 6 minutes.
2. Meanwhile in a bowl, mix together salsa, sour cream and chili powder. Remove cooked sweet potato from microwave and let cool.
3. Cut the sweet potato in half (once cool enough to handle). Scoop out inside flesh with a spoon and place in a separate bowl (save the sweet potato skins). Mash sweet potato with a fork.
4. Add salsa mixture, beans, half the green onions and half the cheese to mashed sweet potato. Stir well.
5. Spoon equal amounts of sweet potato mixture back into sweet potato skins.
6. Top with leftover green onions and cheese.

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Thanks for stopping in at the cafe. Cheers!