Recipe: Maple Dressed Grilled Sweet Potatoes

Mmmm...this tasty grilled dessert-like dish is simple to make, and full of fiber and vitamins - plus delicious flavors. You may never have thought of putting sweet potatoes on the grill before, but once you try this, it just may become your favorite way to make sweet potatoes!

Maple Dressed Grilled Sweet Potatoes
(Serves 4-6.)

Ingredients:

4 large sweet potatoes
2 tbsp cooking oil (or melted coconut oil - my favorite)
4 tbsp butter, melted
2 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp brown sugar
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

• Peel sweet potatoes and cut into thin slices lengthwise.
• Place potatoes in a bowl and pour oil in and rub all over so all pieces are well coated.
• Oil the grill grate and preheat grill to medium-low. Arrange the potatoes on the grates in the center of the grill, away from direct flame. 
• Cover grill and cook sweet potatoes until good grill marks appear, then flip and continue cooking; total time about 12 to 15 minutes depending on thickness of potatoes.
• Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients.
• When sweet potatoes are tender all the way through, remove to the bowl with maple syrup mixture and toss to coat well.
• Add more salt and pepper to taste if desired and serve immediately.

Recipe: Sweet Potato Pecan Crusted Beignets

Nothing says New Orleans like beignets! In this recipe, these classically rich fried pastries are given a special twist with the addition of sweet potatoes and pecans. Pack some of these in your satchel and head out to the parades for a day full of tasty fun!

Sweet Potato Pecan Crusted Beignets

Ingredients:

Beignets! (Photo credit: cplbasilisk)

2 medium sweet potatoes, baked
1 egg yolk, lightly beaten
1/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed tight
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 tsp allspice
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 egg whites
Oil for frying
1 cup finely ground pecans, put in shallow bowl
1/2 cup granulated sugar

Directions:

• Bake the sweet potatoes in 350-degree oven for about 1 hour, or until soft. Cool, then cut in half and scoop insides out into a large bowl and mash with a potato masher until well blended and as smooth as you can get them.
• Add the egg yolk, brown Sugar, flour, allspice, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg; use a hand beater or masher and mix until well combined.
• In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form; fold the egg whites into the sweet potato mixture in bowl. Be gentle when you fold in the egg whites so you don't deflate them.
• In a large deep heavy skillet or saucepan, heat about 2 inches of frying oil until hot, but don't allow to get hot enough to smoke. Use a high heat oil, such as peanut oil.
• Form the beignets by dropping a spoonful of sweet potato batter into the pecans in the shallow bowl, rolling it around until it's coated with the pecans.
• Carefully drop the balls into the hot oil and fry until golden brown, turning once; about 4 to 5 minutes total time.
• Be sure not to overcrowd the saucepan or the oil will cool and the beignets will get soggy.
• Remove each beignet as it browns and put it on a paper towel covered cooling rack; sprinkle with sugar.
• Keep warm if you wish on a baking sheet in an oven set on low.

Recipe: Leftover Sweet Potato Cake

If you're looking for a sweet way to use up some of those holiday leftovers, treat yourself to this wonderful and unique cake! Leftover sweet potatoes add fiber, flavor, and beautiful color, while the rich flavor is accented with vanilla, spices, and a tangy hint of beer - it may sound odd, but try it - you'll be glad you did! (Feel free to cut down on the sugar - with the sweetness of the potatoes you shouldn't need this much - I would probably only use about a cup or so.)

Leftover Sweet Potato Cake

Ingredients:

(Photo credit: SheGotTheBeat)

1 3/4 cups white sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil or coconut oil
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups leftover sweet potatoes, mashed
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 cup beer

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease and flour a 9x13 inch baking dish.
2. In a large bowl, add the sugar and vegetable oil and mix together until smooth.
3. Into the bowl with the sugar and oil, put one egg at a time, beating each one as you add them.
4. Into the same bowl, stir in the vanilla, then add the mashed sweet potatoes and blend well. 
5. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
6. Add small amounts of this dry mixture to the sweet potato mixture, alternating with small amounts of the beer until everything comes together; but do NOT over mix. 
7. Turn this batter out into the prepared baking dish.
8. Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
9. Remove and cool, then slice and serve as is or top with your favorite frosting - cream cheese frosting works great!

Leftovers Recipe: Cranberry Apple Sweet Potato Crisp

The sweet potato casserole is often a favorite, so you may not always have many leftovers, but if you do, it sometimes seems lacking on subsequent days. Here is a creative and interesting way to dress up that leftover casserole, and make it shine anew. The tartness of the apples and cranberries provide a perfect foil to the sweet creaminess of the leftover casserole, and the addition of a crunchy topping provides textural interest as well as tantalizing your taste buds!

Cranberry Apple Sweet Potato Crisp

Ingredients:

4 cups leftover sweet potato casserole
1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 cup chopped tart apples
2 cups leftover cranberry orange relish
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
3 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp flour
2 Tbsp brown sugar
3 cups oat or corn flake cereal

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a shallow casserole dish.
2. Put the leftover sweet potatoes in a bowl with the cream cheese and mix with an electric mixer until smooth.  Add the brown sugar and cinnamon and mix again until smooth. Note: If your sweet potato casserole is very sweet, you can omit the added brown sugar and cinnamon.  If your sweet potatoes are unsweetened, then be sure to add these ingredients. 
3. Layer the sweet potato mixture into the casserole dish, distributing evenly.
4. Sprinkle the apple pieces evenly over the top.
5. Spoon the cranberry orange relish evenly on the top.
6. Sprinkle the walnuts over the top.
7. Put the butter, flour, and brown sugar in a bowl and cut with pastry cutter or with forks until mixture is crumbly. Add the cereal flakes and toss until combined.
8. Sprinkle this mixture evenly over the casserole.
9. Bake, uncovered, in preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes or until the casserole is hot and bubbly and the crunchy topping is lightly browned.

Giving Traditional Favorites A Makeover - Low Carb Holiday Classic Sides

When we start putting our holiday menu down on paper, we usually notice something happening.  The same dishes appear year after year after year.  Aside from the traditional main dish, there seems to be a pattern in many households of our favorite side dishes reappearing.  It's wonderful to follow tradition, but what happens when those family favorites are in conflict with your healthy diet?  Many sides we love are not exactly what you'd call low-carb.  So, how do we reinvent our holiday side dishes?  Let's take a look at a few new ways to treat a few old favorites.

 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Mashed Potatoes and Gravy

Anyone on a low-carb diet will automatically push past the mashed potatoes and gravy.  We know it's loaded in carbs, right?  But the clever cook can easily replace the traditional favorite with a new favorite; Mock Smashed Potatoes and Golden Au Jus. The secret to this low-carb dish is simply that you aren't cooking potatoes; you're creating potatoes out of cauliflower. 

Boil cauliflower, then mash or put in food processor with cream cheese and other ingredients, and you have a smooth potato-like texture.  You can thicken the “potatoes” a bit with a tablespoon or so of almond flour if you wish.  Add garlic, Parmesan cheese, onion, salt and pepper to add even more flavor. 

Then the gravy is simple. All you need really is the pan drippings, a little water, and a saucepan over medium high heat.  Get the liquid bubbling and let it reduce by half and you'll have a nice, rich gravy without any added flour.  Of course, if you wish to thicken the gravy a bit, a little sprinkling of flour won't add a significant amount of carbs to the meal.

Green Bean Casserole

You know you love a big heaping helping of this favorite dish, but just one look at that can of cream of soup and you also know it's off limits.  But you can have this traditional side dish again;  all you need to do is control the ingredients.

Once you have your green beans cooking and your seasonings ready, you just need the sauce to bring it all together.  That thick creamy sauce is what makes the dish, right?  Create your own cream of soup by making a simple white sauce using milk and almond flour to thicken.  You can also stir in a bit of cream cheese to give it an even creamier texture.  It's really as simple as opening a can once you get the basic technique down.

As for those crunchy onions on top, the carbs don't account for much in the entire dish, but if you want to eliminate them entirely, but keep the onion taste, oven fry some thinly cut onion that has been coated lightly with olive oil.  When they get golden brown, toss them into and on top of the casserole for all the flavor without any breading.

Sweet potato, commonly referred to as a yam in the United States. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Sweet Potato Casserole

This favorite side dish will take a lot of tweaking, but with the carb savings you'll enjoy, it's well worth it. Sweet potatoes are loaded with carbohydrates, and I don't mean a little;  I mean a lot!  One trick for bringing the carb count down is to mix pureed pumpkin in with the sweet potatoes.  You maintain the texture and flavor (remember, pureed pumpkin doesn't have any flavor of its own), and bring the carbs down within a reasonable amount.

Of course, you'll want to avoid as much sugar as possible, so one alternative is to stir in a bit of stevia (a natural sweetener made from the stevia plant - it has no carbs and does not affect blood sugar levels, and it is much sweeter than sugar so a little goes a long way), just enough to bring the sweetness to a level that you're used to.  Another way is to readjust your thinking entirely when it comes to sweet potato casserole.  You may want to make it savory instead of sweet.  A sweet potato casserole made with crispy bacon or sausage instead of marshmallows and sugar could be a nice change on your holiday table.

Cranberry Relish

There are even ways to tweak this tangy sweet side dish.  Cranberry relish is typically not what you would call low-carb.  The amount of sugar in most recipes is pretty much off the scale, and the canned variety is even worse.  But, even though the amount you would normally eat at one sitting won't amount to too much, there are still ways to reduce the normal amount of carbs.

One interesting way to reduce the amount of carbs in a bowl of cranberry relish is to “bulk” up the relish as much as possible with lower carb ingredients.  Surprisingly, the peel of the orange is lower in carbs than the fruit itself.  Fill your food processor with raw cranberries and the zest from the peels of a couple of washed oranges and process until finely chopped.  Then, add sections of the orange, tasting after a few are processed, and stop adding when you have a nice blend of tangy and sweet.  Add a sprinkle of stevia or sugar just until you've gotten the sweetness you like. You'll be surprised how little sugar you'll have to add if you taste it first.

All of these makeovers have one thing in common – you have to just stop and think before you do what you've always done.  Often that's all it takes.  When you rethink the ingredients, you can usually eliminate or substitute something that is healthier and just as tasty.  You may even be creating new holiday dinner traditions.

Recipe: Blended Fall Fruit And Veggie Soup

This soup combines sweet and savory flavors of fall into one special and unique warming dish with layers of autumn flavor. Sweet potatoes, apples and pears lend sweetness and richness to the earthy taste of carrots, celery and zucchini, and the kick of curry brings everything up a notch to something really special! Check this one out this fall and it'll warm you inside and out.

Blended Fall Fruit And Veggie Soup
(Serves 4.)

Ingredients:

2 tsp Olive oil
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
1 med onion, diced
1 tbsp curry powder
1/2 lb carrots, scrubbed and diced
1/2 lb zucchini, washed, sliced lengthwise, seeds removed, and diced
1/2 lb sweet potatoes, peeled, diced
1 med Bartlett pear, cored, and coarse chopped
1 Small Granny Smith cored, and coarse chopped
3 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1/2 cup fresh parsley

Directions:

1. In a large soup pot or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium heat until sizzles when a drop of water is added.
2. Add the celery to the pot and cook until just starting to soften.
3. Add the onion to the pot and continue to cook until both the celery and onion have become transparent.
4. Add the curry powder and stir to combine.
5. Add the vegetables, fruit, and parsley, stir to combine, then pour in the broth.
6. Bring the soup to a boil, then immediately turn heat down to low, cover the pot, and allow soup to simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally and watching so it doesn't boil.
7. To create a smooth, blended soup, allow soup to cool slightly, then transfer soup in small batches to blender and blend until desired texture is reached.
8. Pour back into soup pot and reheat over low heat until just hot, not boiling.
9. Serve with a dollop of creme fraiche, sour cream, or yogurt.

Heart-Healthy Recipe - Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Turnips & Sage

As a lighter and sweeter alternative to mashed potatoes, check out this low-carb heart-healthy recipe packed with antioxidants and vitamins - as well as flavor! Sweet potatoes are full of Vitamin A, fiber, and other great stuff, while the garlic (always a great boon to the heart) and turnips add multi-layered flavor and lighten things up a bit. Accent this unique dish with fresh sage and a dash of pepper and sea-salt, and you've got a new healthy favorite that's tasty enough to serve at a special occasion, and healthy enough to eat any day of the week!

Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Turnips & Sage
(Makes about 6 small servings.)

Image via WikipediaIngredients:
1/2 lb sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
1/2 lb turnips, peeled and diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
10 fresh sage leaves, whole
3 Tbsp butter
4 fresh sage leaves, chopped
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Directions:

• In a large saucepan, put sweet potatoes, turnips, garlic, and 10 whole sage leaves, pour in enough cold water to cover and bring pot to a boil.
• Reduce heat to to medium low and simmer until fork tender, about 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the size of the vegetables.
• Drain well, and keep in saucepan, covered, to keep warm.
• Make sage butter: put butter in a skillet over medium heat and when it's melted, add the chopped sage leaves, stirring and cooking for 1 minute or until the sage wilts and browns, but don't let the butter burn.
• Uncover the pot of vegetables and pour the sage butter over the vegetables, add the salt and black pepper, and mash with a potato masher until light and fluffy. Serve warm.

Bonus Tip: For a richer garlic flavor, saute the minced garlic in the butter with the sage instead of cooking with the vegetables. (Be careful not to let it burn, as burned garlic can turn bitter.)