Sweet Potato Smoothie

Sweet Potato Smoothie

My friends who know me know I love my smoothies!  I started making and drinking smoothies several years ago when I was working out with a personal trainer because it was a great way to get my protein after a workout.  Now, because I don’t eat meat it’s also a great way to get my protein using plant-based sources.  (See why I’m a “cheating vegetarian” on my previous post.)  http://thebookofdonna.blogspot.com/2012/10/why-im-cheating-vegetarian.html  I usually have a smoothie at least once a day - either as breakfast or as my post-workout recovery drink so I'm always experimenting with different combinations and flavors to keep from being bored.  

I try to eat healthy as much as possible and a staple food in my diet is sweet potatoes.  I love them because they are naturally sweet and taste good!  It’s one of the things I can eat without putting any condiments on - YES, I like eating sweet potatoes NAKED - not me naked, the sweet potatoes!  Sweet potatoes are a good source of fiber, calcium, potassium and beta-carotene.  So while I do love a regular baked potato every once in awhile, I almost always will choose a baked sweet potato because of the nutritional value.

My no-longer-smelly dog, Hershey!

Sweet potatoes are also very inexpensive and the shelf life on them are longer than other produce, which makes them easy to keep stocked in your pantry.  AND I bet you didn’t know this!  If you have dogs that have odor issues, add a couple of heaping tablespoons of cooked sweet potato (I usually use baked) to their regular dog food and that bad doggy smell will be gone almost instantly!  Okay, not instantly - it takes a day or so to start working, but it really does work!  My female Springer Spaniel, Hershey was having some doggie odor issues several months ago.  Bathing didn’t help - she’d start smelling icky about an hour after having a bath and it wasn’t her teeth or breath either.  We even took her to the vet and had her checked out, but they couldn’t find any reason she was having this issue, but it was breaking my heart because her foul odor made it pretty much intolerable to be near her!   I searched for a natural remedy to fix this issue and yes, discovered feeding her sweet potatoes did the trick!  Here is the link to the website where I found the information about dog odor remedies:   http://www.earthclinic.com/Pets/dog_odor.html Both of my dogs LOVE it and it's good for them!  A lot of high quality dog food contain sweet potato!

The ingredients - you don't have to use frozen sweet potato puree.

Anyway, sweet potatoes are great and if you like them you might want to try my sweet potato smoothie recipe!  I use sweet potato puree that I have previously frozen and keep stored in the freezer, but you don’t necessarily have to use frozen.  You can just use cold sweet potato that has been baked - so this is great if you ever have left over sweet potatoes.  Let me know if you try it and what you think!

This is what it looks like in my NutriBullet.

Soak raw nuts for 6-8 hours to activate the enzymes.

Use a good quality yogurt - I like So Delicious because
it's dairy free and vegan, but you can use your favorite.
I just encourage you to read the label and find one
you like that doesn't have artificial sweeteners or corn syrup.

Sweet Potato Smoothie

Ingredients:

3 cubes Sweet Potato puree, frozen OR 1/2 cup cold sweet potato

               *see link below for instructions on how to make the puree

1/3 Banana, frozen

3 oz Vanilla yogurt (I used So Delicious) *see tip

1 cup Milk of choice (I used unsweetened almond milk)

1/4 cup Water *it depends on how thick you want your smoothie

1 Tbsp Walnuts, raw *see tip

1 Tbsp Maple Syrup

1/2 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract *see tip

1/4 tsp Cinnamon

Pinch Nutmeg

2-4 Ice Cubes *depends on how thick you like your smoothie

Directions:

Place all items in blender (I used my NutriBullet) and mix until blended - you can use your blender.

*Tip:  If you're not using puree and using cold sweet potato, you may need to add a little more milk or water, depending on how you like the consistency.
*Tip:  When using raw nuts of any kind, soak in water for 6-8 hours.  This activates the enzymes.

*Tip:  Sometimes I use1 scoop of a plant-based vanilla protein when I make my smoothies, but the brand I use is not available commercially yet unless you live locally in Central Florida.  If you use vanilla protein, you may need to "play" with the liquids and ice for desired consistency, either adding more or less milk or ice.

Link for instructions on making sweet potato puree:  http://thebookofdonna.blogspot.com/2012/11/sweet-potato-puree.html