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

22 Days of Thanksgiving: Day 14 - A Cup of Coffee

Every day from now until Thanksgiving I will be sharing something I am thankful for.

Day 14:
This morning I am thankful for the simple pleasure of a cup of coffee. I love mornings when I don't have to rush out of the house and can enjoy and savor a good hot cup of coffee or tea. A lot of the times we all rush around because of our busy lives, but I always think its important to appreciate and be grateful for the small things like this that we often don't even give a second thought unless we just need a "jolt" to get our day started. As I try to do each time I eat to drink anything, I try to enjoy the taste and flavor of every drop and morsel and appreciate where it came from and how it got to my table or kitchen. I am thankful for my cup of coffee.

Mmm...A hot cup of coffee with So Delicious dairy free creamer.

22 Days of Thanksgiving: Day 12 - My Friends

Every day from now until Thanksgiving I will be sharing things I am thankful for.

Day 12 of Thanksgiving:

Just a few of my friends - there are too many to show!
I'm a lucky woman to have so many people to call friends.

I am thankful for my friends, old and new. I'm fortunate and grateful to have some great friends. One of the things I love most about my friends is the diversity of them. I'm not one who has to be around people or have friends that are exactly like me. So while I'm a married Asian-American woman in my forties who is a Christian, a registered Republican, a "cheating vegetarian" who loves food and wine, dogs and all animals, and currently works part-time - I love that my friends are women and men of all ages. I have friends who are white, black, Asian, and Latino. Friends who are Republican, Democratic and Independent. I have friends who are straight and friends who are gay. My friends are Christian, some are Baptist while others are Catholic and Methodist and Mormon. Others are Jewish and Muslim, and yes I even have friends who are agnostic and atheist. I have some friends who are vegan, some who are vegetarian, but most who are meat-eaters. 

Some friends I've met through work, others I went to
school with, others I met on vacation.

A lot of my friends have pets and friends who don't like animals at all. I have friends who are busy career people, others who are in school - some who do BOTH at the same time and some who work two jobs to make ends meet. I have friends who are married, divorced, single, separated and widowed. Some friends who are retired and some who gave up their careers so they could raise their children. 

While my friends are diverse, the thing ALL my friends have in common is they are good people with good hearts and because they aren't exactly like me, I learn so much and gain different perspectives that I believe help to make me a better person. I am thankful for my friends.

Sweet Potato Puree

I use frozen sweet potato puree for smoothies and like to have it handy for smoothies and pasta dishes.  It's really easy to make and can be used in other recipes that call for the puree.  Here is my how I make it.

Ingredients:

4 large Sweet Potatoes

1/4 cup Water

Use parchment paper for easy clean up.

Peel away the skin then use spoon to scoop out the flesh.

Add your water a little at a time.

It only takes seconds for the puree to process!

Scoop into ice cube trays and freeze.

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.  This isn’t necessary, but will save on clean-up since the sweet potatoes sometimes leave a sticky residue on the pan from the juices.
3. Place sweet potatoes on cookie sheet and bake for about 45 minutes or until tender.  Let cool until cool enough to handle - about 30 minutes to an hour.
4. Using your fingers, peel back the skin of the sweet potatoes.  Scoop out the flesh and put into food processor.  (You can also use blender.)
5. Add about 1/4 cup of water.  You may need to add more water depending on how big your sweet potatoes are, but I always start with less water because you can always add more.  
6. Process until sweet potato is the consistency you want.
7. Using spoon, scoop into ice cube trays and freeze for about 6 hours. (I usually just freeze overnight.)
8. Once your sweet puree is frozen, pop the cubes of frozen sweet potato into a zipper storage bag and store in freezer until ready to use.

Pumpkin Granola Buckwheat Pancakes

Like a lot of people during the fall season, I get just a little obsessed with everything pumpkin!  (See my previous post from October 13, 2012 on “Pumpkin Season”)  http://thebookofdonna.blogspot.com/2012/10/pumpkin-season-pumpkin-pie-smoothie.html  Whether it’s at the coffee shop, the Yankee Candle store, or the bakery I want to devour myself in ALL things pumpkin throughout the fall season!

So Delicious Pumpkin Spice Coconut Milk
It's dairy free so its great for those who are
lactose intolerant!

So when my Whole Foods finally started carrying the So Delicious Pumpkin Spice Coconut Milk, you can imagine how excited I was!  I believe I actually started doing the “happy dance” right there in the store!  I know I probably got a few looks from other customers, but it’s no different than when I’m in my car so I just do my dance and go about my business.

I use So Delicious products all the time - I love their  vegan “ice cream” and I use their coffee creamers.  They have a vanilla and hazelnut flavor coffee creamer, but I have missed the seasonal flavors that come out during the holidays.  However, even though I miss the seasonal flavors, I can’t get myself to drink them anymore because of all the nasty ingredients they contain that I try to keep out of my diet.  Sooooo... back to the Pumpkin Spice Coconut Milk.  If you know me, you know I love food and I’m someone who isn’t afraid to experiment with recipes.  The So Delicious carton has a recipe on it for pancakes and while I’m sure it’s very good I wanted to make my own version!  I’m big on texture when eating so I prefer granola pancakes over regular pancakes because I feel like the oats gives it more bite.  And I love buckwheat so I thought I’d try making Pumpkin Granola Buckwheat Pancakes and WHO’DA THUNK???  They were so amazing that I knew I had to share the recipe immediately!

These are the ingredients I used (those aren't real pumpkins - they're actually candles).

I ate my pancakes with just a little bit of (real) organic maple syrup that I heated up so it was nice and warm and I cannot even begin to describe how happy it made my my belly!  Do yourself a favor and get yourself some REAL maple syrup and DON’T waste your money or tastebuds on that fake corn syrup stuff!  It’s nasty and not good for you and is a pain to clean up - plus maple syrup tastes so good!

I used a little ladle to easy pouring for the batter.

You'll know they're ready to flip when
the edges of your pancakes look "dry".

Beautiful golden brown pancakes!

You know you want to make these!

The first time I made these pancakes I used an egg, but I made it the second time using EnerG Egg Replacer to make it was vegan.  Honestly, I couldn’t tell the difference in the taste, but you can make it whichever way you decide and let me know what you think!  According to the Book of Donna, if you like pumpkin - you’ll want to eat these pancakes every morning for breakfast!

So delicious with a little warm maple syrup!

Pumpkin Granola Buckwheat Pancakes

Makes about 9 dollar size (5") pancakes

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Buckwheat Pancake Mix

1/3 cup Rolled Oats

1/3 cup Pumpkin Puree

1/4 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice

1 cup So Delicious Pumpkin Spice Coconut Milk

2 tsp Safflower Oil *you can also use canola oil

1 Egg, beaten OR 1 serving EnerG Egg Replacer for Vegan Version

Directions:

1. Mix buckwheat, rolled oats together in a medium bowl.  
2. Add Pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, So Delicious Pumpkin Spice Coconut Milk, safflower oil and egg OR egg replacer if making vegan version.  
3. Whisk together until completely combined.  
4. Heat griddle on medium heat and lightly spray it with non-stick cooking spray.
5. Pour about 1/4 cup batter onto griddle - cook for about 2-3 minutes, depending on your stove top.  The way you’ll know your pancakes are ready to flip is the edges will start to look “dry”.  I always use a spatula and carefully peek under the edge before flipping to make sure they’re ready to flip.
6. Flip and cook other side for about 1-2 minutes.  Enjoy with warm maple syrup.

*Tip:  When I’m making a BIG batch of pancakes, I pre-heat my oven to 200-250 degrees and place the pancakes on a pan in the oven to keep them warm until I’m ready to serve them.  This way, they’re all nice and warm when you’re ready to serve!  

*Also, you can make a large batch and freeze the leftover pancakes!  They re-heat really well and taste just as good as the day you originally made them!  Just put them in a plastic zip-loc bag and put them in the freezer - reheat in the toaster oven at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes or in the microwave.

*For a variation, you may want to try adding some chopped walnuts or pecans either directly into the pancake batter, or top off your pancake with the nuts.

Let me know what you make these and what you think - tweet me or comment on my Facebook page.  Have a great day!

22 Days of Thanksgiving: Day 11 - Our Veterans

Every day from now until Thanksgiving I will be sharing things I am "thankful" for.

Day 11 of Thanksgiving: 

I am thankful for all veterans who have served our great country. It is because of these brave men and women who courageously defend our freedoms and make great sacrifices that we can live in this country safely and with pride. So to my dad, and all the other men and women who have served and still currently serve the United States of America, I want to say I am grateful to you for all the sacrifices you have made. Happy Veterans Day!

22 Days of Thanksgiving: Day 10 - Beautiful Days

Everyday from now until Thanksgiving I will be sharing things I am "thankful" for.

Day 10 of Thanksgiving:

I am thankful for beautiful days with gorgeous blue skies and gentle breezes. I love being outdoors and playing even now as an adult. And when the sun shines and the temperature is perfect, mid-70's, like it was today, I love playing in the theme-parks or going to an outdoor festival so I can enjoy the weather. This is the time of year I love living in Florida the most because the weather is so nice and I spend as much time as I can outside. I think I must've said, "If today was any more beautiful, I just don't think I could stand it!" to my friend Jeffrey about a dozen times yesterday and thankfully he agreed wholeheartedly or I think he would have slapped me because I would've driven him crazy sounding like a parrot! I am thankful for beautiful days.