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This sweet potato carbonara pasta will satisfy your craving for comfort food but in a much healthier way. Cheap and fast to make too! Paleo, Whole30, and gluten-free, and a Stage 2 AIP Reintroduction (due to eggs and black pepper)
I've had a need for comfort food lately because of my new puppy. He's been with us 3 weeks now and while I've actually gotten a few full nights of sleep since, most nights I am up with him at least once. And unfortunately my adrenals are suffering as a result and I have that “tired but wired” feeling quite a bit. If I get up with the pup at say, 1 am, I'm usually lying in bed tossing and turning until at LEAST 3 am. It doesn't matter if I count sheep, meditate, go downstairs and read for a bit, stretch, whatever – my cortisol levels are spiked and I'm screwed. It's the worst when you are beyond exhausted and all you want to do is sleeeeeep, but your body is saying “nah, maybe later, time to play!”. Luckily my functional medicine practitioner was able to give me some adrenal support supplements in the form of some adaptogens which are helping a lot, but it's definitely something I need to keep an eye on for sure.
The last time this happened, after the birth of my youngest, I just pushed through it all, worked out the same, started eating terribly (with a lot of sugar to keep my energy levels up), etc and everything eventually came crashing down around me and I could hardly move. This time though I know to back off on the exercise right now (except for my weekly Barre class and some short walks), try to take naps when I can, go to bed early every night (sometimes at 8:30), meditate at least 10 min a day to help reduce any additional stress, take a few minutes for “me” time each day, eat as cleanly as possible with as little sugar as possible, and not be afraid to ask for help and support from my loved ones. And luckily for me, puppies get through this phase MUCH faster than babies. So we shall see how this goes, but it'll take some recovery for sure!
Anyway – comfort food for me in the “old, pre-Paleo” days included yummy pasta dishes. Well, that's out now obviously, but fortunately I can recreate them with some even more delicious sweet potato noodles 🙂
This Paleo and gluten-free sweet potato carbonara comes together in under 30 minutes and is a great option if you are looking to eat less meat in your diet. Paleo can get a little meat heavy at times, and I've been really wanting to reduce our intake lately. However, if you want more meat or need something a bit more to fill you (or your ridiculously fast growing children), you can easily add some Italian Sausage links or chicken to this dish. Either cook them in a separate pan from the rest of this or roast your chicken in the oven. I personally like chicken thighs sprinkled with salt and pepper roasted in the oven at 425 F for about 40 min.
This meal is also a great budget-friendly dish as potatoes are not expensive and sweet potatoes are one of those things that are almost on the Clean 15 list so I usually feel ok buying conventional to save some moolah. Same with mushrooms. Save your pennies to buy better bacon and organic spinach.
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If you need a tutorial on how to make sweet potato noodles with a sprializer, check out my video. The Paderno spiralizer I have is only $22 on Amazon right now, so it's a great deal!
I hope you enjoy!
Sweet Potato Carbonara Recipe
If you make this dish I'd love to hear how it turned out! Either comment below or share a pic on Instagram and tag me @thrivingautoimmune!
Sweet Potato Carbonara
Ingredients
- 2 pounds Sweet Potatoes (peeled)
- 2 eggs yolks + 1 full egg (beaten)
- 1/4 tsp Sea Salt
- 1/4 tsp Ground Pepper
- 3 slices Bacon (chopped)
- 8 oz Crimini Mushrooms (sliced)
- 2 cloves Garlic (minced)
- 2 cups Baby Spinach
Instructions
- Put a large pot of water on to boil.
- Using the spiralizer or julienne peeler, make your sweet potato noodles.
- Heat a skillet or cast iron pan over medium heat and add the bacon. After a minute, add the mushrooms and cook, stirring often, until the bacon has browned and the mushrooms no longer have any liquid, about 6 minutes. Add the garlic to the pan with the mushrooms and bacon and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the spinach and stir until wilted, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat.
- Cook the sweet potatoes in the boiling water until just starting to soften – about 3 minutes. Reserve about 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid and then drain the noodles. Turn off the heat.
- Return the noodles to the pan. Mix the eggs, salt, pepper, and reserved water in a bowl and then pour over the noodles and gently toss until evenly coated.
- Add the bacon mushroom mixture to the pasta and toss.
I’m not a cook so bare with me… it seems the eggs are raw then on everything? Do you cook it at all after pouring the eggs on?
No, you don’t cook the eggs – the reserved hot water you used to cook the noodles in will actually cook the eggs, as well as the heat from the noodles once you toss everything together. Of course if you aren’t comfortable with that you can always put the whole mixture back in the pot and cook a bit longer to make sure the eggs are completely 100% cooked.
i made a similar recipe last week….sweet potato stir fry. Run the sweet potato through the sprializer, then put in the food processor and hit the pulse button 5-7 times. The sweet potato spirals now look like pieces of rice. Then do stir fry the normal way in a wok/skillet with veggies, spices, and mix in 1 full egg beaten. It will cook in the wok then stir it all up.
Ill try this Carbonara recipe soon. Thanks
Hey Jeff! Nice “seeing” you here! That’s an awesome tip though- can’t say I’ve ever heard of doing that but I’m definitely going to be trying it soon.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUe31JZ51Q0
Here is the recipe I followed. I picked up a spiralizer a month or so ago, so I look forward to finding more inspiration.
Carbonara pasta speaks right to my heart and the sweet potato version adds wonderful sweetness to this umami-rich dish ! Love your cutie pie puppy too ! So cute !!
Thanks ChihYu! Someday I will teach my dog to cook like yours do 🙂
That little puppy face! I can’t stand it. And your sweet potato noodles look delish!
Thanks Katja! We love his face so much, which helps at 3 am when letting him out to pee! 🙂
I love this idea! Definitely adding to my list of dinners to make this week 🙂
Thanks Amy! Hope you enjoy!
What a great way to sneak in some extra veggies!
Thanks Hannah!
What an interesting and tasty twist on pasta!
Thanks Carrie!
I LOVE spiralized sweet potatoes (and your puppy is so adorable!). Good for you for taking the steps you need to rest right now–so important. Hope you continue to feel better!
Thanks Becky!
This carbonara looks so delicious! I love sweet potato noodles so I would love this!
Thanks Jessica!
Oh my that pup is just delicious… and the recipe too! Love the sweet potato noodles <3
Thanks Cristina!