Sweet Potato Biscuits

This past weekend it was in the 80s (hot for west la!) and fall was nowhere in sight. But it has drizzled on and off today making it feel a little more like chai latte and sweater weather. It also has me thinking about all things squash, pumpkin and especially sweet potato.

Sweet potatoes are rich in Vitamin A (betacarotene) and Vitamins C which are powerful antioxidants and B5 and B6 which contribute to fat loss. In addition, sweet potatoes are surprisingly low in calories, containing only 100 calories per potato. In that same potato you will get 13% of your daily allowance of potassium, 2 grams of protein and 4 grams of fiber.

Biscuits may seem like an odd choice for me since I very rarely bake and I try my best to stay grain free. However, with substitutes like coconut flour and Bob's Red Mill gluten free flour these biscuits are a guilt free treat.

Add a poached egg* and some spinach and you have the perfect breakfast sandwich.

Ingredients:

31/2 ozs sweet potato (cooked + well-mashed)
11/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tbsp granulated sugar
2 tsps baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
6 tbsps unsalted butter (cold and cut into pieces)
1/2 cup milk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and soda, and whisk until combined. Using a fork, pastry blender or your hands, add butter pieces to the flour and mix until coarse little crumbles remain. Pour in milk and add sweet potato, stirring with a spoon until thoroughly combined.
Use a 1/4 cup measure to drop batter onto a nonstick baking sheet, or press dough on a sheet of parchment paper or cutting board, then use a biscuit cutter to shape the dough into rounds. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until biscuits are slightly golden and puffy. While biscuits are baking, prepare your breakfast sandwich ingredients. Enjoy!

* Thanks to all those who offered poached egg advice yesterday! To create the perfect poached egg boil water, add a bit of white vinegar, then stir quickly to create a "vortex." Drop the egg into the middle of the vortex and turn off the stove. Then wait 5 minutes and remove with a slotted spoon:)

Barbequed Lime, Coconut and Chile Beef

We felt a little guilty after using, and posting about, our neighbors' BBQ a week after we should have given it back. But it turns out they've been back east since we borrowed it. So the BBQ'ing continues!

The tortilla bowls are optional here. I probably wouldn't have included them but I knew I would get a better picture if I did:) The recipe calls for whole wheat but I used flax seed and quinoa to make myself feel better about the grain....

Ingredients: (serves 4)
2 cloves garlic, minced
Zest and Juice of 1 lime, divided
1/4 cup light coconut milk, divided
1 tbsp chile powder, divided
Pinch each sea salt and fresh ground black pepper, plus additional to taste
1/2 lb outside round steak, sliced into 4 1/4 inch thick steaks
1 sweet potato, peeled and cut lengthwise into 4 slabs for even thickness
4 8-inch wholewheat tortillas
1 tsp olive oil 1/2 red onion, sliced
2 cups broccoli florets

 Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Preheat grill to medium-high and lightly oil grate with cooking oil. In a large bowl, combine garlic with a third of lime zest and juice, 1 tbsp milk, 2 tsp chile powder and pinch each salt and black pepper. Add steak and potato and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Lightly warm tortillas in the oven by wrapping the stack in foil for several minutes.
*The original instructions say to press tortillas into heat proof ramekins but how many people have those lying around? I made my own molds out of aluminum foil.*
Bake until crisp and golden, about 15 minutes. Set aside to cool and, once cooled, remove from molds.
Add steak and potato to grill and cook for about 10 minutes, turning halfway until steak is cooked through and potato is tender. Allow steak to rest 5 minutes. Thinly slice steak and potato and set aside.
In a saute pan on medium-high, heat olive oil. Add onion and saute until tender, about 3 minutes. Add broccoli and remaining 1 tsp chile powder and saute for 1 minute.
Add 6 tbsp water, cover and cook for about 2 minutes, until broccoli is tender-crisp. Add remaining lime zest and juice and 3 tbsp milk and stir to combine.
Add beef and potato, tossing to coat in sauce, until heated through. Season with additional salt and black pepper. Divide mixture among tortilla bowls.

Chicken and Sweet Potato Foil Packets

After more than two months of "living" (out of boxes, without any art on the walls, decorative pillows etc.) in our new place Dave and I finally threw a house warming party last weekend.

It was so fun showing off our new place, especially after putting a ton of time and energy into it in recent weeks. But one of the coolest things was being able to wheel our neighbor's BBQ over for a "cook out" as Dave calls it.  I have never owned a BBQ (I still don't technically) and though I have become quite the expert at using the stove top grill, it's not the same.

We decided to take advantage of still having the BBQ last night (yeah, we're "those" neighbors) so we whipped together some chicken foil packets.

The most time consuming thing about this recipe is preparing the sauce so if you can do that in advance you'll be in great shape.

Ingredients (Serves 4):

Olive oil cooking spray
12 oz green beans, trimmed
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1/2 inch chunks
1 red onion, sliced
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into 1 inch pieces

Sauce: 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter 1/4 cup light coconut milk 2 tbsp rice vinegar 2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro leaves (optional of course!) 1 tbsp raw honey 1 tbsp fresh lime juice 1 tbsp minced fresh ginger 1 tsp reduced sodium soy sauce or tamari 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes 1 clove garlic, minced

Directions:

Preheat grill to medium-high or preheat oven to 450.

In a medium bowl whisk together all sauce ingredients (peanut butter, milk, vinegar, 2 tbsp cilantro, honey, lime juice, ginger, soy sauce, pepper flakes and garlic. Set aside.

Cut 4 12x16 inch pieces of foil and mist with cooking spray. Divide green beans, potatos and onion evenly into the center of each piece of foil. Divide chicken and peanut butter mixture between foil pieces, over top of vegetables. Bring the edges of the foil together and fold to seal.

Place foil packets directly on the grill or on a large rimmed baking sheet in the oven. Grill or bake for 25 to 39 minutes until chicken is cooked through and potatoes are tender.
Transfer content of packets to plates and garnish with additional cilantro...or not:)

Sweet Potato Pancakes

One thing I craved during my break from grain was pancakes. I thought I would go a little nuts at my favorite breakfast spot once I reintroduced grain into my diet but instead I ordered my usual egg white omelet. Ha. Once you are grain free for a period of time the idea of grain just sounds so heavy and...blah. But I came across this recipe for "Louisiana" sweet potato pancakes and as I am a big advocate of all things sweet potatoes I thought I would give them a shot. (Click here for the health benefits of sweet potatoes as well as a great Thanksgiving Day recipe!)

My batter was a little heavier on sweet potatoes and lighter on flour than the below so yours may not be quite so orange. One drawback of adding extra sweet potatoes is that your pancakes are "gooier" in the center but for me it was worth it!

Ingredients: (serves 4)
6 oz sweet potatoes
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup milk
2 tbsp butter, melted

Directions:
Place sweet potatoes in a medium saucepan of boiling water and cooke until tender but firm, about 15 minutes (I cooked mine 20-25.) Drain, and immediately immerse in cold water to loosen skins. Drain, remove skins, chop and mash.
In a medium bowl, sift together flous, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Mix mashed sweet potatoes, eggs, milk and butter in a separated medium bowl. Blend sweet potato mixture into the flour mixture to form a batter.
Preheat a lightly greased griddle over medium high heat. Drop batter mixture onto the prepared griddle by heaping tablespoonfuls and cook until golden brown, turning once with a spatulat when the surface begins to bubble.

Roasted sweet potato and black bean salad

Just when you thought winter salads couldn't be "fun" along comes this delicious salad made with a popular winter vegetable (or root if you prefer.)

Sweet potatoes contain a number of vitamins, are powerful antioxidants, and can contribute to fat loss. (For more nutritional information and another sweet potato recipe click here.)

Add black beans to the mix and you've got a great nonmeat source of iron and protein. (Not to mention fiber!)

Ingredients:
2 large sweet potatoes peeled and cut into 1 in pieces
1 tsp salt, divided 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper, divided
1/4 cup fresh lime juice, plus wedges for garnish
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp finely chopped garlic
1 can (15 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup thinly sliced orange and/or yellow bell pepper
1/2 cup thinly sliced scallions
1/2 cup fresh mint
4 cups baby arugula (iceberg pictured)

Directions:
Heat oven to 375. On a baking sheet coated with cooking spray place potatoes in a layer, sprinkle with 1/2 tsp sale and 1/4 tsp pepper. Bake until tender (15 mins) let cool. In a bowl whisk juice, vinegar, garlic, remaining 1/2 tsp salt and remaining 1/4 tsp pepper. Add potatoes, bean, tomatoes, bell pepper, scallions and mint, toss. Serve over arugula and garnish with lime wedges.

Happy Turkey (or Tofurkey) Day!

Just returned from one of my favorite workouts - TRX!! Now I have plenty of room for extra calories. (But not TOO many extra;)

If you follow my blog you know my family Thanksgiving is light on turkey and heavy on rigatoni. Add to that pumpkin pie and wine and you've got a 1000 calorie meal (!) But at least I can feel good about the nutritional value of my appetizer - agave mashed sweet potatoes.

Sweet potatoes are rich in Vitamin A (betacarotene) and Vitamins C which are powerful antioxidants and B5 and B6 which contribute to fat loss. In addition, sweet potatoes are surprisingly low in calories, containing only 100 calories per potato. In that same potato you will get 13% of your daily allowance of potassium, 2 grams of protein and 4 grams of fiber. And the 26 grams of carbs will give you enough energy to get through your Black Friday shopping:)

Ingredients:
2 lbs. sweet potatoes (about 5 small)
3 tbsp butter or margarine
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 cup cream or milk
1/4 cup amber agave nectar

Directions:
Peel and chop sweet potatoes into uniform cubes. Steam or boil until tender. Strain from water if boiled
Place cooked sweet potatoes and butter into a large bowl. Using an electric mixer on medium speed beat for approximately 2 minutes. With a spatula, scrape down sides of bowl, add cinnamon and nutmeg. Continue beating for 1 minute. Slowly pour in cream, continue beating until combined. Add amber agave nectar, mix until well incorporated. Add salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with Chives and serve with crackers or a sliced baguette.

Barbeque Tacos

Tempeh is a great meat alternative for vegans/veggies and those trying to "Tone It Up." It's especially good in tacos and taco salad since the texture is similar to ground beef or turkey when cooked.

Ingredients:

4 oz tempeh (crumbled)
1 tbsp barbeque sauce
1 whole grain tortilla
1/2 cup chopped spinach
1 tbsp nonfat greek yogurt
1/4 tsp cumin
1/2 sweet potato
pinch salt

Directions for Taco:

Combine tempeh with bbq sauce and heat in a small skillet coated with oil of your choice.
Fill tortilla with tempeh mixture, spinach and yogurt.

Directions for potato chips:

Cut sweet potato into thin slices
Toss with 1/4 tsp ground cumin and pinch of salt
Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.