Ode to the humble sweet potato

Don’t judge a vegetable by its cover. A sweet potato is a starchy root vegetable that grows in the ground and to be honest, it is not the most attractive vegetable, with its odd shape, imperfect skin, and dusting of dirt. But whatever you do, don’t let the appearance stop you from incorporating them in your meals. Sweet potatoes are true superfoods, filled with beneficial nutrients including vitamin A, vitamin C, beta carotene, potassium, folate, and manganese, which make them one of the healthiest complex carbs around.

Recipe: Sweet Potato Hummus

Are you in the mood for a sweet or spicy hummus? Change up your basic hummus by adding spices to create a unique flavor, depending on your taste preference.

 Food weight: 0.5

INGREDIENTS:

Yield: 16 servings (1 Serving = 2 Tablespoons)

Ingredients:

·         1 medium sweet potato, washed

·         1-15 oz of garbanzo beans, rinsed, drained

·         2 Tbsp of olive oil

·         1 Tbsp of tahani (optional)

·         Choose your spices: Sweet or Spicy

o   Sweet: 1 tsp of cinnamon, 1 tsp of pumpkin spice

o   Spicy: 1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper, 1/2 tsp of paprika, 1 tsp of cumin 

DIRECTIONS:

Directions: Pre-heat oven to 400 ºF. With a fork, poke holes in the sweet potato all over (both sides). Place the sweet potato on a baking sweet and bake for 45-60 minutes until you can squeeze it. Once the baked potato is cooked, remove the skin and chop it into pieces. Add the chopped sweet potato and the other hummus ingredients into a blender and mix the hummus until it becomes a smooth consistency with no visible chopped pieces of sweet potato. Taste the hummus and add more spices as needed.

Nutrition Information Per Serving: Food weight: 0.5, Calories: 60 kcal, Fat 2: g, Cholesterol: 0 mg, Carbohydrate: 8g, Dietary Fiber: 1 g, Protein: 2 g, Sodium: 85 mg

Trick or treat!

Holiday season is right around the corner; the time when working towards our health goals becomes a lot more challenging. The temptation to grab those yummy baked goods and holiday sweets as you walk through the office, local coffee shop, and countless social gatherings can be almost impossible to resist. 

One holiday tip that can help is to bake up your own healthy sweet treats. If you do have a craving for something pumpkiny and sweet, you can easily whip up a single serving in your favorite mug to satisfy your sweet tooth.

Recipe: Pumpkin Spice Mug Cake

Food weight: 1.5

INGREDIENTS:

Did you know that you can create a faux egg for baking from flaxseeds? Use a flaxseed egg to substitute for eggs in baked goods to add fiber and omega 3 fatty acids and to reduce the cholesterol in your sweet treats. You won’t taste the difference, I promise! All you have to do is mix together ½ tablespoon of ground flaxseed and 1 tablespoon of water in a mug and let the mixture sit for 2 minutes. Voila, you got a vegan flaxseed egg!

Yield: 1 serving (1 cup = 8 oz)

Ingredients:

▪    1/2 Tbsp ground flax seed

▪    1 Tbsp water

▪    2 Tbsp canned pumpkin puree

▪    1 Tbsp maple syrup

▪    1 Tbsp plain unsweetened almond milk

▪    1/4 tsp vanilla extract

▪    1/4 cup whole wheat flour

▪    1/4 tsp baking powder

▪    1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice and/or cinnamon

▪    Optional toppings: raw unsalted pumpkin seeds, cinnamon chips, pumpkin puree

DIRECTIONS:

Directions:

In a mug, mix together the ground flaxseed and water and let mixture sit for 2 minutes. In the same mug, add the pumpkin puree, maple syrup, milk, and vanilla and stir to combine. Then stir in the flour, baking powder, and pumpkin pie spice/cinnamon. Optional: mix in the cinnamon/chocolate chips and top with pumpkin seeds. Place the mug into the microwave and cook for 2 minutes. Your pumpkin spice cake is ready to be served! Eat your cake directly from the mug or scoop out the cake and place on a plate…yum.

Nutrition Information Per Serving:

Food weight: 1.5, Calories: 167 kcal, Fat: 2 g, Cholesterol: 0 mg, Carbohydrate: 33 g, Dietary Fiber: 6 g, Protein: 5 g, Sodium: 17 mg

Happiness=Homemade Apple Butter

Jams, jellies, and fruit butters are not just made with fruit. In fact, most of these fruity spreads are made with white sugar, in addition to the natural sugar (fructose) found naturally in fruit. Therefore, what you often think may be a single serving of fruit on your slice of warm toast is actually a small amount of fruit and a whole lot of table sugar. If you truly enjoy spreading your toast with a jam, jelly, or fruit butter, buy a low sugar or sugar free version, and/or make your own.

Recipe: HOMEMADE APPLE BUTTER

Select a mixture of sweet and sour apples to create a flavorful apple butter.

INGREDIENTS:

Ingredients:

·       4 lbs of apples, core and slice

·       2 Tablespoons of lemon juice

·       1 Tablespoons of ground cinnamon (add more to satisfy your taste)

DIRECTIONS:

Directions:

Place the sliced apples into a crockpot and cook for 4 hours on HIGH. Mash apples into an applesauce consistency. Cool the applesauce for 15 minutes before scooping into a blender. Blend applesauce into a smooth consistency like whipped butter! Pour apple butter back into the crockpot and cook for 1-2 hours on HIGH until you like the thickness of your apple butter. Mix in the cinnamon and lemon juice to the apple butter. Let the apple butter cool before putting into jars to be stored in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.

  

Nutrition Per Serving:

Food weight: 0.5, Calories: 20 kcal, Fat: 0g, Cholesterol: 0 mg, Carbohydrate: 5 g, Dietary Fiber: 1 g, Protein: 9 g, Sodium: 0 mg

Sweeten Your Life with Pears!

A medium pear is a perfect 100-calorie snack with 6 g of fiber and a high content of vitamin C and vitamin K. Pears are a versatile fruit, they can be eaten raw, baked, roasted, sautéed, and grilled. If you like your pears juicy and sweet, place them in brown paper bag and check daily until the neck of the pear gives to gentle pressure. The naturally sweet pears are the perfect ingredient to candy-coat your warm breakfast oatmeal, fruit crisp, or side dish without adding sugar or honey. Try this week’s sweet vegetable and fruit side dish, Roasted Cinnamon Butternut Squash and Pear.

Recipe: Roasted Cinnamon Butternut Squash and Pear

Sweeten your roasted vegetables with not only a juicy fruit, but cinnamon too!

INGREDIENTS:

Yield: 8 servings (4 oz per serving = ½ cup)

2 cups of butternut squash, chopped

2 pears, chopped

½ yellow onion, chopped

1 Tablespoon of olive oil

2 tsp of cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:

Pre-heat oven to 350 º F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil or spray a baking sheet with olive oil cooking spray. In a large bowl, add all the ingredients and mix well to coat the butternut squash, onion, and pear with the olive oil and cinnamon. Spread out mixture onto the baking sheet. Roast mixture for 45 minutes (stir every 15 minutes).

Nutrition Information Per Serving:

Food weight: 0.5, Calories: 65 kcal, Fat: 2 g, Cholesterol: 0 mg, Carbohydrates: 13g, Dietary Fiber: 3g, Protein: 1g, Sodium:  3mg

Power up with PUMPKIN!

‘Tis the season of eating everything Pumpkin!

Pumpkin is naturally orange in color, which contains large amounts of vitamin A to sustain sharp eyesight, the antioxidant beta-carotene to fight cancer, and vitamin C to maintain a healthy immune system, just like the orange sweet potatoes and carrots.

When you think pumpkin, it may conjure up thoughts of warm and delicious pumpkin lattes, pumpkin bread, pumpkin cookies, and many other sweet pumpkin goodies. Expand your nutrition repertoire by incorporating the versatile pumpkin superfood into savory dishes such as soups and sauces.

Recipe: Creamy Pumpkin Pasta Sauce

Creamy pasta sauces don’t have to be loaded with high fat cream and butter like most alfredo and ala vodka sauces. Try pumpkin, butternut squash, or cauliflower puree with white beans to create a rich and creamy low calorie pasta sauce!

INGREDIENTS:

Yield: 8 servings (1/2 cup, (4 oz) per serving)

Ingredients:

Pumpkin Sauce

·         2 shallots, minced

·         3 cloves of garlic, minced

·         1 tsp of olive oil

·         1-15 oz can pumpkin puree

·         ½ -15 oz can of cannellini beans

·         1 Tablespoon of oregano (or mixture of Italian spices)

·         1 tsp of cracked black pepper

·         1-15 oz can of low sodium vegetable broth. 

DIRECTIONS:

In a small saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat and cook the shallots until soft and translucent for about 10 minutes. In a blender, add the cooked shallots and the rest of the ingredients in the recipe. Blend sauce until is a smooth puree.

Your pasta sauce is ready to mix amongst a cup of pasta, your favorite cooked vegetables, and lean protein to create a filling and balanced portioned meal!

Nutrition Information Per Serving (pasta sauce only): Food weight: 0.5, Calories: 63 kcal, Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 0 mg, Carbohydrate: 12g, Dietary Fiber: 3g, Protein: 3 g, Sodium: 158 mg