The Nutrition Behind the Bright Colors

Beta carotene is the phytonutrient (plant nutrient) that gives foods like sweet potatoes, pumpkin, and carrots their distinct yellow-orange color. This recipe has a lot of it! That’s great news, because not only does it make your food beautiful, beta carotene is converted to vitamin A in the body, is a powerful antioxidant, boosts the immune system, lowers your risk of heart disease and certain cancers, and more.

With a recipe like this, you don’t need to worry about supplementation. You get well beyond your daily dose of beta carotene here – and there’s no such thing as too much! So enjoy the vibrant color of this soup and know that it’s a sign of good things happening within.

Mushrooms are Medicine

Mushrooms are one of those unsuspecting superfoods. They are so common, yet so healing! For example the white button mushroom, which is the most commonly used mushroom (90% of culinary mushroom consumption), has been shown to increase your body’s cancer-fighting cells. Mushrooms also have been shown to improve blood sugar control and support greater insulin sensitivity through various mechanisms.

In recipes like this one, mushrooms add a chewy texture and heartiness to the meal that makes it even more satisfying.

Use Fresh Herbs, You Won’t Be Sorry!

Dried herbs and spices are wonderfully convenient for cooking. However, when you take the time to purchase (or grow your own) and prepare fresh herbs in a dish, it really takes the flavor to the next level. If possible, we really recommend using fresh thyme in this recipe!

Make Your Life Easier

There are many ways to make home-cooked meals. Some involve many dishes and time-intensive steps. If that’s exciting for you, that’s awesome – but we like to make things much more simple. A recipe like this one has two key qualities:

It uses only one baking dish. There’s no need for pots or pans, just a cutting board and a baking dish – and if you get one with a lid, you can even store the leftovers right in the baking dish for even more efficient use of tools and time.
It is a ‘set-it-and-forget-it’ recipe. What this means is that you don’t need to watch it or stir and make adjustments as it cooks. You prepare the ingredients, put it in the oven, set a timer, and walk away. If your oven has a cook-time setting, you can even set it to turn off after the designated cooking time. This frees you up to spend all that cooking time doing other things, so that your only time required for this recipe is the chopping and setting process. (The Instant Pot is another good tool in addition to the oven for this type of cooking experience)

Although it takes 45 minutes to bake, you might spend just 10 minutes in the kitchen. Now that’s the kind of cooking we can get behind!

Scalloped Sweet Potatoes

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Cook Time 1

Servings Serving

Calories 439 kcal

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups (690g) Sweet Potato - About 1 medium sweet potato
1/2 cup (60g) Yellow Onion, thinly sliced - About 1/2 a small onion
6 cups (180g) Baby Spinach - About 1 bag of baby spinach
4 cups (300g) Mushrooms - About 1 small package, roughly 10 oz
1/2 cup (120g) Lite Coconut Milk - About 1/3 of a standard 14‑oz can
1/3 cup (80g) Pureed Pumpkin - About 1/5 of a standard 15‑oz can
1 1/3 tbsp (11g) Garlic Powder - Available in small jars
2 tbsp (3g) Thyme, stems removed - Available in jars

Instructions

Slice sweet potatoes to approximately 1/8-inch thick. Thinly slice the onions, spinach, and mushrooms and set aside.
Line a baking dish with foil. (Note: We use a 9x9 baking dish for 6 servings.)
Create overlapping layers of the sweet potato slices in the dish and sprinkle the onions, mushrooms and spinach in between each layer. Continue until all sweet potato and onion is used up.
Preheat oven to 400ºF.
In a saucepan, heat water up on medium heat.
Add coconut milk, pumpkin, garlic powder and thyme. Whisk until combined and warm, about 5 minutes.
Pour the sauce over the sweet potatoes. Top with any leftover sprigs of thyme or a dash of dried thyme.
Bake in the oven for 40 to 45 minutes, uncovered, until sweet potatoes are cooked through. Enjoy!

Notes

Leftovers: Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to four days
Make it Spicy: Add chilli flakes or cayenne pepper.

Nutrition

Calories: 439kcalCarbohydrates: 89gProtein: 10gFat: 5gFiber: 6g

+ References

About the author

Tara Kemp, PhD

Tara Kemp, PhD is a contributing writer for Mastering Diabetes. She is a mental health coach, researcher, and writer. Tara received her PhD in Psychosocial Health from Northern Arizona University and has a background in nutrition education with previous positions at organizations like Forks Over Knives, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, and Plant-Strong. Tara is also the founder of Reconnect Collective.

Tara’s research specialization is the foundations and mechanisms of a healthy relationship with food, body, and self. She was the principal investigator and lead author of the groundbreaking INFINITE study, which explored the role of food and nutrition in recovery from substance use disorders. During her doctorate program at Northern Arizona University, she was involved in the Nutritarian Women’s Health Study, and her dissertation research focused on how a plant-based diet influences individuals’ recovery from disordered eating.

Tara’s work combines evidence-based practices from various disciplines to support people in addressing the root cause of their challenges while also building the foundations and skills of mental health to cultivate lasting well-being.