Merry Christmas, everyone! I truly hope your holiday season has been filled with people you love, tasty food, warmth, fun, and laughter.
This is not a holiday recipe. It’s also not a post-holiday detox recipe (don’t even get me started on those). It’s December and I’m going to share a smoothie recipe with you. Two, actually. I’m typically not a smoothies-in-winter gal, but this was too tasty and unique not to share. Plus, they’re made with sweet potatoes, a fall/winter crop. Yes, sweet potato in smoothies. Interested?
The first time I saw sweet potato used in smoothies was in fellow dietitian McKel Hill’s beautiful new cookbook, Nutrition Stripped. Her Sweet Potato Julius piqued my interest, and I had to test out this unexpected ingredient for myself. I tried it out using a variation of the recipes below and knew the idea was gold. Sweet potatoes have a similar viscosity as bananas, which blend beautifully and create a smooth, luscious texture, camouflaging the gritty texture of protein powder. The potatoes’ subtle sweetness combines nicely with warming flavors like cinnamon and turmeric, making it a nice addition to a blended drink in fall or winter.
Here we go; two recipes for sweet potato smoothies:
- 1/2 cup cooked and cooled sweet potato
- 1 scoop unflavored protein powder
- 1/2 of a frozen banana
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2/3 cup milk
- Combine all ingredients in a high-speed blender. Blend on high for 1 minute until smooth.
- SR Clients: 1 serving = Level 2 (100%) snack. Add one add-on to make this recipe a Level 2 (100%) breakfast.
- 1/2 cup cooked and cooled sweet potato
- 1/2 of a frozen banana
- 1/2 cup frozen mango
- 1 tsp fresh ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon dried turmeric
- 2/3 cup milk
- Combine all ingredients in a high-speed blender. Blend on high for 1 minute until smooth.
- SR Clients: 1 serving + 1/8 cup nuts (or other ~100 calorie addition) = Level 2 (100%) snack. Add one add-on to make this recipe a Level 2 (100%) breakfast.
//Taylor