Loaded/Stuffed Potatoes

This is a WFPB cheese sauce and the "bacon" on top is bacon flavored coconut flakes

Nothing fills you up like a potato (or sweet potato!). It is a great food, for a whole food- plant based diet (WFPB) as pictured. It is really good for you topped simply with steamed broccoli, or a wfpb chili, or hummus.

A potato bar is a great way to feed a crowd because everyone can put on the toppings they like. 

OR you can make specific stuffed potatoes, perfect and melty coming out of the oven. 

The key is to cook the potatoes expertly, or your meal will flop. They are the star afterall. Take time to figure out how to do this, experimenting with different types of potatoes and cooking methods until you find one you're comfortable with. You want them to be all the way soft so that a fork can go easily into them, but not mealy, crumbly, or dry on the insides. Some people have luck washing, poking, and wrapping them in foil and baking them. I've had luck just washing, poking the outsides, and baking them without foil, either dry, or rubbed with oil and salt. Tasted great, but it wasn't consistent. Yellow/brown medium sized potatoes in the Instapot under pressure for about 10 minutes works really well consistently. 

Once the potatoes are ready, slash open on top 2-3 times and fill with toppings, and then put them back in the oven under the broiler until melty.  

Plenty of recipes and ideas though for terrific baked/stuffed potatoes! 

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Cheese and Broccoli version: Cheese sauce with cooked broccoli and bacon bits. (or Vegan cheese, and broccoli that has been diced and sautéed in water with Mrs. Dash seasoning.)

Mexican Nachos version: Top with cheese or cheese sauce of choice (I love the WFPB version), then black beans, seasoned ground beef, pico de gallo, salsa, chicken, cilantro, jalapenos, steak, sour cream, avocado etc., as desired.

 
Chili Cheese version- favorite chili and cheese

Sour Cream and Chives version: sour cream and chives or palta which is both creamy and sour because of the avocado and lemon juice.

Loaded Sweet Potato-PPF
Top freshly baked sweet potato with Chilean tomato salad, or broccoli, and tahini sauce or cashew sour cream. 

My favorite WFPB Cheeze Sauce- super easy

1 c. raw cashews or raw sunflower seeds (lite: ½ c. cashews plus 1 Tbsp cornstarch)
2 c. water
½ large red bell pepper
1&1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp onion powder
½ tsp garlic powder
2 Tbsp food yeast flakes
bit of paprika and turmeric for color

Add all ingredients to blender and blend about 2 minutes until smooth.  Pour into small saucepan and bring to a boil while stirring.  It will thicken in about 5 minutes, and it’s ready to serve.  *Sunflower seeds make the sauce slightly grey and maybe don’t have as good a flavor as the cashews, but I like how much cheaper they are.  For the bell pepper it can be canned, freeze-dried, etc.

After the sauce is ready, pour it on baked potatoes, mashed potatoes, vegetables, etc.