Ola! It’s official – I have Mexican fever. And guess what? I LOVE IT!!

In case you missed the food memo, Cinco de Mayo is just around the corner and I have all sorts of wonderful Mexican goodies in store for you fine folks. Are you ready for it?

I’ve got simple how to’s of some great vegan kitchen staples, delicious one dish meals, incredibly mouth-watering appetizer bowls and all sorts of other Mexican themed dishes that will knock your socks off.

So buckle up, get cozy and stick with us for the next week as I serenade you with the best vegan and gluten-free Mexican dishes that you’ll find this far North of the border. Let’s get started!

To bust into the Cinco de Mayo culinary foray, today I’m sharing this delicious recipe for Mexican Stuffed Sweet Potato Skins. Inspired by Lindsay’s recent healthy sweet potato skin recipe over at Pinch of Yum, I thought this would be the perfect dish to kick up the spice level a touch and put a Mexican spin onto. Let me tell you – this recipe is a real winner!

It’s sweet with just the right amount of spice; loaded with the best filling ever – black beans, corn, red peppers and spinach; ideal for eating with your hands; and, perfect for all sorts of delightful toppings. Salsa? Guacamole? You bet ya! In fact, I whipped up a tangy lemon avocado drizzle for these guys and it was the perfect pairing!

Prepping these delicious Mexican Stuffed Sweet Potato Skins does take a bit of time – roasting the sweet potatoes is a little consuming – but I assure you it’s totally worth the wait. Plus, you can totally just pop these delicious little sweet potatoes into the oven on a parchment lined tray, and kick back and relax with the perfect cinnamon roll and an episode of Bones – not that I would know anything about that 😉 But seriously, while roasting the sweet potatoes does take an hour, it’s an hour that requires no supervision so you can do all sorts of other things in the meantime. Since this recipe is for Cinco de Mayo, maybe now would be the perfect time for a siesta? Obviously not a good idea if you’re home alone, but if you have someone who’s willing to keep an eye on the oven for you, why not?!

Once the sweet potatoes are roasted and have cooled for a few minutes, you’re going to slice them in half and scoop out their delicious, sweet, caramelly filling. Sweet potatoes are truly a thing of beauty and I really adore their amazing vibrant orange colour and their incredible rich flavour. As a sweets lover, this recipe is the perfect blend of sweet from the sweet potatoes and spicy with all the other add-ins. Add in all the spices and fillings, give everything a good mix, pop the filling back into the skins and you are ready to party.

Once the filled skins have taken their final roast in the oven, they’re ready to be covered with your favourite toppings and devoured. Muy Bueno!

This recipe for Mexican Stuffed Sweet Potato Skins is definitely one of my favourite things that I’ve made recently. As a sweets lover, I find it really easy to whip up all sorts of delicious dessert recipes since they practically just dance around my head all day, but sometimes coming up with real food recipes can be a bit of a challenge for me. Except when it comes to Mexican food – as my favourite type of ethnic food, I could easily eat tacos and burritos all day, every day. Mmmmmmm ♡

While you’re digging into your big plate of these amazing Mexican Stuffed Sweet Potato Skins, you can tuck them in a little easier knowing just how healthy sweet potatoes are for you. Also known as yams, sweet potatoes:

are high in vitamin B6.

are high in vitamin C which in addition to all the other things most people know it for, helps accelerate wound healing, produces collagen which helps maintain skin’s youthful elasticity , and is essen­tial to helping us cope with stress. It even appears to help protect our body against toxins that may be linked to cancer.

, and is essen­tial to helping us cope with stress. It even appears to help protect our body against toxins that may be linked to cancer. contain iron and are a good source of magnesium which is the relaxation and anti-stress mineral.

are naturally sweet-tasting but their natural sugars are slowly released into the bloodstream , helping to ensure a balanced and regular source of energy, without the blood sugar spikes linked to fatigue and weight gain.

, helping to ensure a balanced and regular source of energy, without the blood sugar spikes linked to fatigue and weight gain. have a rich orange color which indicates that they are high in carotenoids like beta carotene and other carotenoids, which is the precursor to vitamin A in your body. Carotenoids help strengthen our eyesight and boost our immunity to disease, they are powerful antioxidants that help ward off cancer and protect against the effects of aging. (source)

So, not only are these Mexican Stuffed Sweet Potato Skins totally delicious, they’re healthy too –excelente!

So add these yummy Mexican Stuffed Sweet Potato Skins to your meal plan for Cinco de Mayo and celebrate the occasion in style! As always, make sure you post your pictures of the recipe to Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Google+ and tag them #glutenfreeveganpantry.

Hasta la Vista, amigos!



