Guest post from Brigette Shevy
I don’t know about you, but there’s just something about getting in a serving of vegetables at breakfast that makes me happy. It gives me a sense of accomplishment by 8 a.m.
The sweet potato in this smoothie recipe adds that extra “oomph,” not only boosting the nutritional qualities (hello, beta carotene!) but increasing the “fill factor” as well. (If you’re wondering what “fill factor” is, I define it as something that keeps me full for longer than 1-2 hours!)
I realize adding sweet potato to a smoothie might seem like an odd combination to many people, but it blends in quite nicely. For those of you who don’t care for sweet potatoes, this is a great way to consume them almost effortlessly.
The easiest, quickest way to cook a sweet potato is in the microwave. Simply scrub the potato, pierce it several times with a fork, and pop it in the microwave until soft (about 5-6 minutes). You can store it in your refrigerator until ready to use for this recipe. You can also substitute cooked carrots, pumpkin, or butternut squash in place of the sweet potato.
Sweet Potato Smoothie
Makes 2 servings
- 1/2 cup (125 g – I pack it really full) sweet potato, cooked and chilled
- 1 frozen banana, cut in thirds
- 1/2 yellow apple, cored (If you like really thick smoothies like me, stick the apple in the freezer for a while before using)
- 1/8 tsp. each nutmeg and cinnamon
- 1 Tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 cup milk (any kind will work)
- 1 cup ice cubes (You can use more or less, depending on how you like your smoothies.)
Place all ingredients in a Vita-mix or high-powered blender. Blend on high until smooth. Serve immediately.
Brigette is a full-time wife and mother who is blessed with three amazing bundles of energy (ages 5, 3 and 1). She enjoys music, experimenting in the kitchen, homeschooling her children, finding great deals, long-distance running, and anything chocolate.
I’ve discovered that sweet potatoes can do pretty much anything pumpkins can. I’ve made sweet potato muffins, sweet potato waffles–they taste just like pumpkin if you season the baked good with cinnamon and nutmeg. 🙂
I add sweet potato, too – though I just “cheat” and throw in some cubes of frozen sweet potatoes that I’ve already made for baby food. Works well with pumpkin and butternut squash, too!
This is tempting for me. I love smoothies, but do not like sweet potatoes. I do like them mashed in a sweet potato casserole my Mom makes at holidays. I just do not care for sweet potato fries or eaten like a baked potato. I have some pumpkin in the cabinet right now so I am craving a smoothie after seeing this. Thanks for recipe. As others mentioned, I never thought to add it to a smoothie. I usually do fruit smoothies with just frozen fruit, yogurt and milk.
Wow, this sounds delicious! Can’t believe that I never thought of putting sweet potato in a smoothie! Brilliant 🙂
Love the little easy print tab! I wish that was on all the recipes you post!!
It should be on all the recipes we post. Check the recipe page and all of them should have it. I’m glad you find it helpful!
I’ve made something like this with pumpkin, I add 2-4 tbsp of oatmeal for a real fill ‘er up! I call a Pumpkin Pie Smoothie.
Im totally going to try this! Going on next weeks menu!
Awesome idea! I make a smoothie almost exactly like this, but I use pumpkin instead of the sweet potato, and it’s absolutely delicious. Now I can compare prices of sweet potato to pumpkin and get whatever is cheaper 🙂
Oh, this looks fabulous! Thanks for posting!
We do this too, but with pumpkin! We like ours with vanilla yogurt, pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice! So easy!
I tried a straight sweet potato smoothie the other day (w/coconut milk instead of dairy) and it was too gummy for us, but maybe with the apple and banana added in it is different.
After Thanksgiving when stores have tons of sweet potatoes left and mark them down to way cheap is when I bake and freeze them for the whole year. The skins slip right off of a cooled baked sweet potato. I put each one in a baggie and then fill freezer bags with them and freeze. I know this is asking for some nasty comments but cooking veggies in the microwave kills the enzymes and nutrients so that they are pretty worthless nitritionally.
I think it depends on how you cook it. The New York Times reported that most studies indicate that all methods of cooking vegetables destroy some sort of nutrients, but that because microwaves cook them quickly and with the least amount of water (if you steam them w/very little water) that in some cases they are the best option. Here is the link if you’re interested: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/17/health/17real.html
Great idea with the sweet potato. We often cook and freeze a large batch of pumpkin in the fall and we add that into our smoothies every once in a while, but I hadn’t thought of sweet potato. Thanks!