Mediterranean Style, Vegetarian, Sweet Potato Stew - Cirrhosis Healthy
Updated: May 28, 2022
When looking for something to cook in our new dutch oven, we were able to turn to one of my favorite blogs, The Mediterranean Dish, by Suzy Karadsheh.
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After being diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver, one of the key elements that I am looking for in a recipe is consuming a variety of vitamin rich, delicious vegetables. This recipe does just that! The sweet potatoes alone are packed with powerful minerals, vitamins, fiber, antioxidants and other disease fighting nutrients.
Why this meal?
My mother and I were looking for a healthy meal to cook for dinner. The tricky part is trying to find something that satisfies everyone in the family. I have a very specific selection of foods that I can consume. My diet is whole food plant based, with a splash of fish every few weeks. I am learning how to cook with my new way of living and falling in love with different foods.
Playing with different flavor combinations has been a fun part of this new chapter in my life. My father has a more westernized palette that causes "steak, potatoes" to be his desired meal. He has been a wonderful trooper with at least giving the dishes we create a try. My mother loves a Mediterranean style of eating; filled with delicious seafood, the array of spices and flavors that make your tastebuds dance.
Today was a rainy day, the high was 52 degrees and it got as low as 37 degrees. The air was crisp and we all felt the need to warm our bellies with a hardy meal. When I asked my mother what she had though of the chosen recipe, she said:
"Something hot in the dutch oven sounds like a great idea to me." - Carol Miller
When my mother and I were brainstorming ideas on what to make for dinner, we came across this recipe Simple Vegetarian Sweet Potato Stew, Mediterranean style (Click recipe name to be redirected to the original post by Suzy Karahsheh). After we finished reading through all the ingredients, we decided this recipe was the winner for the evening.
Our experience making this meal.
First of all, majority of the preparation was done by my mother. My mother is Portuguese and her love for cooking always takes over. She will take over in the kitchen peeling the sweet potatoes, cutting them into chunks, chopping the yellow onion and chopping the celery. She is particular on how the vegetables are chopped and with that I do not hesitate to find another task to work on. We decided to add celery to the recipe, with the idea of adding another vegetable to our dish. We simplified the carrot peeling and chopping process by substituting it for fresh pre-cut carrot chips. We also decided to serve ours with couscous, which was one of the suggestions Suzy Karadsheh had.
Photos from us cooking dinner.
My father got this dutch oven for Christmas, for my mother. It worked wonderfully. It is the Cuisinart 8qt Dutch Oven.
Here you can see the pre-cut carrot chips, the pre-chopped onion, celery, minced garlic, and spices. The oil in the pan that we used was avocado oil. Olive oil is what the recipe calls for; however, I am deathly allergic to olives.
The sweet potatoes were cut into medium chunks. The kitchen was filled with the aroma of garlic from us sautéing the onion, garlic and celery together.
Here we added the canned of diced tomatoes (juice included) and the low sodium vegetable broth.
With my non-alcoholic liver disease/cirrhosis, mild chronic gastritis and intestinal metaplasia, I have to watch my sodium intake. When I can, I choose the low sodium or no salt option.
We decided to serve ours with couscous, as it was recommended as a way of serving this dish. The couscous absorbed the broth from the dish very well and had an enjoyable texture.
Overall, my mother and I were very satisfied with this dish. It agreed with both of our digestive systems, it was packed with flavors and some how it was both hardy and light. Perfect for a cold, rainy, winter evening.
Now I have to be transparent... not everyone in my household enjoyed this meal. My father made an effort and tried it. It was not his cup of tea. It was also too spicy for him. If I were to make it again I would not have not used as much Aleppo Pepper as I did. To counteract the spice, my mother used a dollop of sour cream and it helped smooth out heat coming from the spice. I personally did not find it to be spicy and did not use sour cream. Mind you however; I love spicy food!
So we are going to keep this recipe for when my father is out of town. We will enjoy this delicious meal. My mother will have a glass of Wente Riva Ranch Chardonnay with it, and I will have sparkling water with a splash of lime and muddled mint.
If anyone has any wonderful vegan or vegetarian recipes they recommend, I would love to hear from you and to try them out!
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