“I always think of baked sweet potatoes as little rafts of nutritious delight. Unto themselves, they’re quite tasty and full of fiber, a wonderful blood sugar regulator. But what they’re best at, at least when they’re baked and the top is slit open, is carrying numerous other healthy ingredients along for the ride. Chopped herbs, chutneys, veggies, nut creams, yogurt … all are great variations (see below). Many people gravitate towards a sweet potato when they feel like eating but aren’t over-the-top hungry. I like the simplicity with which they can be prepared. Bake four, eat one, put the rest in an airtight container, and they reheat in a flash. A great go-to food!”

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Scrub sweet potatoes well and dry them off with a clean towel. Brush the skins of the potatoes with 1 teaspoon of olive oil or coconut oil. Pierce each potato a several times with a fork. Place the potatoes on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 45 minutes to an hour, or until tender.

Make a slit in the top of each sweet potato and add a tablespoon of your favorite topping options.

Reprinted with permission from The Cancer-Fighting Kitchen: Nourishing, Big-Flavor Recipes for Cancer Treatment and Recovery by Rebecca Katz with Mat Edelson, copyright © 2009, 2017 Ten Speed Press, a division of the Crown Publishing Group, Berkeley, CA. Photography by Leo Gong.