Don’t Throw Away Those Sweet Potato Peels

May 10, 2012 By

FoodWasteFriday
One of my biggest pet peeves is throwing away food. I could kick myself every time I dump food down the drain or in the trash: it’s just a complete and total waste! And I hate waste. Which is why I am so thrilled to link up to The Frugal Girl on her weekly feature where she posts a picture of all the food she had to throw away for the week, and invites other bloggers to do the same. The idea is to feel some accountability - who wants to admit they threw away all that money to the whole world? - to help you avoid throwing away food in the future.


So in the picture above, you see what I threw away this week:

  1. a child’s serving of chicken
  2. cucumber-tomato salad
  3. (not pictured) 3-4 soft potatoes

The chicken is leftovers from going out to eat with our extended family to celebrate some birthdays. I tried 3 different times to get both kids to eat their leftovers, but they categorically refused. By then, it was time to throw them away. Sadness.

I made myself the cucumber-tomato salad, ate half of it, then forgot about the other half. Oops.

And the potatoes went bad surprisingly quickly! I’m going to half to cook up the rest of the bag for dinner tonight before they go bad, too.

You’re probably wondering about the sweet potato peels, aren’t you? I have not recently thrown away any sweet potato peels. In fact, I’ve discovered recently that sweet potato peels actually make an amazingly delicious little snack that’s good for you, too. Considering it’s made from something most people would grind in the garbage disposal, I’d say that’s a pretty good deal!

Now if you Google “sweet potato peels”, you’ll find a bunch of tutorials that instruct you to bake the sweet potato whole, scoop out the flesh, and then roast the peels. That’s great if you actually need sweet potato puree, but not so great if you’re wanting to peel and cut the sweet potatoes for some other purpose (like sweet potato fries, for example). In that case, you’re starting with raw peels, a totally different thing altogether.

I couldn’t find a single recipe online that started with raw sweet potato peels, so I invented my own. And Oh. My. Goodness. They were soooooooo good. Even better (in my humble opinion) than the variety that starts with baked potato peels. Instead of baking the peels, I boiled them a little bit first so they weren’t completely raw when I put them in the oven. The olive oil just soaked into the tender peels and created a crisp but tender salty little treat that was rather addictive.


Sweet Potato Skins

Ingredients

  • 2 sweet potatoes
  • 1 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 tsp cumin
  • 1/4 tsp paprika
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper

Instructions

  1. Use a paring knife to peel the sweet potatoes in strips lengthwise, making sure to leave a decent amount of flesh on the skin. Use the actual sweet potato for another purpose.
  2. Place the peels in a pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and simmer just until the skins are tender.
  3. Drain the skins, pat them dry, and place them on a cookie sheet. Brush liberally with olive oil.
  4. Mix together the seasonings in a small bowl and sprinkle them on the peels.
  5. Bake at 425F for 10-12 minutes or until peels are browned and crispy.


Unfortunately, I don’t have a picture of the finished product, but trust me. These are good!

Boiling the peels adds an extra step, so these aren’t the QUICKest snack in my repertoire. But they’re still done in half an hour or less.

Very EASY! No special skills required.

Oh yeah, these are CHEAP. Can’t get any cheaper than this!

And very HEALTHY, too. The fiber from the peels and all the antioxidants and other goodness from the sweet potato is just the icing on this cake.

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Secret Recipe Club: Sweet Potato Rice Pudding

February 6, 2012 By

The Secret Recipe Club took a little break in January - which was kind of nice - but we are back in full swing now! Quick explanation for the uninitiated: we are each secretly assigned a different blog, and we choose a recipe from that blog to make and write about. (Sound like fun? Join the club here.)

This month, I was assigned Tea and Scones, written by Margaret, who loves trying out new recipes and sharing her adventures with the rest of us. She is an incredibly talented baker - look at this amazing Vienna Bread, and this Swedish Rye! Being on a buckwheat flour kick, I strongly considered making her Blueberry Buckwheat Pancakes but then I decided I wasn’t feeling up to the challenge of de-allergifying them (why, yes, I do believe I just made up a word!). Instead I went with her Pumpkin Rice Pudding.

I know; kind of a boring choice after all that amazing-ness, but what can I say?! We love us some rice pudding around here - for dessert AND for breakfast! And with pumpkin? Even better!

Only I didn’t have any pumpkin. Why yes, the queen of pumpkin was completely out of that commodity. I did, however, have plenty of sweet potato puree packed in the freezer, and sweet potato is orange, so sweet potato it was. Happy thought indeed! It was delicious. I even made a dairy-free version with rice milk that was just as good.

Sweet Potato Rice Pudding

Ingredients

  • 2 cups cooked brown rice
  • 3 cups milk (any kind)
  • 1 cup mashed sweet potato
  • 1/2 cup unrefined sugar or honey
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp freshly ground ginger
  • 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp salt

Instructions

  1. Stir together all the ingredients in a 2qt casserole until well combined. Bake at 375F for 45-50 minutes or until bubbly. Remove from oven. Serve hot or cold; top with whipped cream if desired.


Since I had cooked rice and sweet potato in the freezer, this came together very QUICKly for me, but if you have to start those both from scratch, it can take a while.

It’s very EASY, though. It’s hard to mess up rice pudding! Well, as long as you can cook rice.

Rice is CHEAP, but rice pudding does take a lot of milk. That doesn’t stop me from making it, though!

It’s a very HEALTHY dessert and a passable breakfast (especially if made with honey rather than sugar). The sweet potato adds extra vitamins and fiber - as well as a lovely color and delicious flavor!

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For My Vegan Friends: Black Bean Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

January 18, 2012 By

Black Bean Stuffed Sweet Potato

First, let’s get something straight. I am not a vegan. I have tasted life without cheese and I didn’t like it. I won’t go back voluntarily. However, on Facebook recently, I asked my readers to give me some ideas for recipes to post in January; and to my surprise, several people requested vegan recipes.

Huh.

I am not entirely a stranger to vegan cookery - having a child who is allergic to beef, dairy, and eggs kind of thrust me in that general direction on occasion when searching for recipe inspiration. In fact, my favorite ever chocolate chip cookie recipe is Happy Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies. I suppose if I were a vegan, I could forget about the cheese if I could eat those cookies all day long. Maybe.

In any case, as it happens, I do have a vegan recipe to share with you, my vegan friends! I bet you’re not surprised that it involves beans. And sweet potatoes! The two together work some pretty awesome magic, let me tell you. I started with this recipe for black bean stuffed sweet potatoes, and then livened it up just a bit.

If you’re not vegan (or dairy-free, if that’s the case), you can un-veganize it by dressing it up with a little cheese (you know what my choice is!) and sour cream if you’d like. But honestly, they’re delicious as they are. Even without the cheese. (Really.)

Black Bean Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

Black Bean Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients

  • 4 small-medium sweet potatoes
  • 1-2 TBSP olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/4 cup chopped onion
  • 1/4 cup chopped green pepper
  • 1/4 cup chopped hot pepper of some kind (I used Carman peppers)
  • 2 cups cooked black beans
  • 1 cup salsa (I used some leftover homemade salsa)
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1/2 tsp dried cilantro
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper

Instructions

  1. Pierce the sweet potatoes with a fork several times, then place directly on the oven rack (make sure you have a sheet of foil on the floor of the oven to catch any drips). Bake at 400F for 45-60 minutes, or until tender when pierced with a fork.
  2. While the potatoes are cooking, prepare the bean filling.
  3. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Saute the garlic, onions, and peppers until fragrant. Stir in the cooked beans, salsa, and seasonings. Cook until heated through.
  4. When potatoes are finished cooking, cut them in half lengthwise, and top with the bean filling. If desired, sprinkle with shredded cheese and/or a dollop of sour cream.


The bean filling here, folks, is kickin’ awesome, I can assure you! I could eat that on its own endlessly. Thank goodness my boys were there to stop me, or they might not have had any lunch.

Black Bean Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

This is QUICK if you have cooked beans on hand. (I like to freeze extras, or I make them on a day when I have extra time in preparation for a meal like this.) If you don’t have cooked beans on hand, you’re going to have to plan ahead: soak them overnight the day before you plan to make this dish, then cook them in the slow cooker all day until you’re ready to get started with this recipe. Once you’ve got cooked beans to start with, you can make the black bean filling while the sweet potatoes are baking in the oven. Dinner will be ready in an hour or less!

It’s very EASY, for sure. In fact, it’s a one-pan meal, so that means very little clean up!

Both beans and sweet potatoes are super CHEAP, so this one’s a frugal winner in my book.

You’ve never seen so much HEALTHY packed into one little dish! You’ve got the Super Food Sweet Potato, combined with Vegan Protein Extraordinaire (otherwise known as beans), all wrapped up with antioxidants and vitamins from the cute little veggies and spices.

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A Thanksgiving Side Dish - Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

November 21, 2011 By

Sweet potato is the quintessential Thanksgiving side, and unless your family abhors this brightly-colored root vegetable, then it’s likely to appear on your table in some form or fashion this holiday season. And no wonder: it’s colorful, sweet, and easy to craft into pretty much any dish you desire!

Not to mention that it’s super cheap. I just picked up a whole bunch at the grocery store for $0.33/lb. Time to stock up on sweet potatoes, for sure! My friend Nancy bought more than 20 lbs (yes, 20 lbs!) and cooked them to store in the freezer. I’ve decided to follow her example, and I really think you should, too! Tasty healthy vegetables all year long until they’re in season again. Sounds like a good plan to me!

But save a few of the beauties for this side dish to grace your Thanksgiving table. These stuffed sweet potatoes make a great presentation, perfect for special holidays and special guests. And they taste divine. Dee. Vine.

I’ll tell you a little secret:

I don’t really like sweet potatoes.

But these sweet potatoes? I ate the whole thing, lickety split. These are lick-the-plate good! My Certain Little Someone is a huge fan of sweet potatoes and he also thought they were pretty much the bomb. Gobbled his down and asked for more.

Many thanks to Edesia’s Notebook for this fabulous recipe!


Sweetly Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

from Edesia’s Notebook

Ingredients

  • 2 medium sweet potatoes (preferably more of a round shape than a tubular one)
  • 3 TBSP butter or coconut oil, divided
  • 1 TBSP orange zest
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 2 TBSP whole wheat or brown rice flour
  • 1/4 cup chopped nuts or granola (for nut-free)

Instructions

  1. Wash the potatoes and place them directly on the oven rack. (I like to place some foil on the bottom of the oven to catch any drips.) Bake at 375F until tender, approximately an hour.
  2. Cool until easy to handle. Cut each sweet potato in half lengthwise and carefully scoop out the flesh, leaving about 1/4″ around the edge to stabilize the peel so that it forms a bowl of sorts.
  3. Place the flesh in a bowl and smash it together with 1 TBSP butter or oil, orange zest, cinnamon and salt. Divide the mixture evenly between the empty shells, piping it through a decorator bag if desired.
  4. Combine remaining ingredients together with the last 2 TBSP of butter or oil until crumbly. Sprinkle over each sweet potato. Bake at 375F for 10-15 minutes more or until top is lightly browned.

Sweet potatoes take just as long as regular baking potatoes to cook in the oven, and maybe even longer, so this isn’t the QUICKest recipe ever. The majority of the time spent is time in the oven, though, freeing you to make other Thanksgiving preparations.

It is such an EASY recipe. And I love that it looks so fancy! Totally impressive without a great deal of effort.

As I’ve already mentioned, sweet potatoes are in season right now, making this a super CHEAP recipe for this time of year. And even in the off-season, sweet potatoes are only $0.99/lb typically (around here, anyway), so it’s not exactly an indulgence in any case.

Sweet potatoes are so HEALTHY for you. That vibrant orange color? Vitamin A! And antioxidants. And lots and lots of fiber. So eat it up!

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Fall Fest 2010: Improving the Thanksgiving Side Dish

November 10, 2010 By

I’m talking about one Thanksgiving side dish that has reached “tradition” status in many a household: the sweet potato casserole. You know, the one filled with canned sweet potato, tons of sugar, topped with marshmallows? Yeah, that one. It has a few variations - like the kind with sweetened condensed milk in addition to the tons of sugar, or the kind with crushed sugared cornflakes on top instead of marshmallows - but they all have one thing in common: a lot of extra sugar. And I mean a lot.

Which is something I don’t really get. Aren’t sweet potatoes, well, umm…. sweet? Do they really need all that extra sugar?

I think not.

Which is one reason why I found a totally different sweet potato recipe that uses minimal sugar and lets the sweet potato flavor shine through. Try it this Thanksgiving and see if your family doesn’t love it, too! I’ve made this recipe many times, mostly for my Certain Little Someone, who looooooooovvveeessss sweet potatoes, and can’t have all the milk and egg that are often found in traditional sweet potato recipes. It’s one of my favorite ways to prepare sweet potatoes for him, and it also receives rave reviews when I serve it to guests or at other events.

Note: I’m usually making this for my Certain Little Someone, so the recipe is scaled down. I find it’s actually pretty convenient, though: all the other ingredient ratios are based on one sweet potato, so you can multiply them to fit however many sweet potatoes and/or guests you are serving.

Sweet-Enough Sweet Potatoes
For each sweet potato, you will need:
2 TBSP coconut oil
1 TBSP raw sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 pinch freshly ground black pepper

Wash, peel and slice the sweet potato. Place the coconut oil in a square baking dish and place in oven heated to 375F for about 5 minutes. Remove from oven, and carefully add the sliced sweet potatoes, turning with a spatula until all are covered with the oil. Return to oven and bake for about 10 minutes. While they’re baking, mix the remaining ingredients in a small bowl. Remove sweet potatoes from oven and sprinkle with the cinnamon mixture. Stir carefully with spatula until all pieces are covered, Return pan to oven and continue to bake at least 10 minutes, until potatoes are soft and easily pierced with a fork. (It may take up to 20 minutes.) Drain sweet potatoes on paper towel, then remove to serving bowl.

The original recipe I found suggested drizzling some fresh lime juice over the sweet potatoes just before serving, which is a great gourmet touch, perfect for your Thanksgiving table. I have to admit, though, that I haven’t found it to change the taste significantly, so I usually just omit that part and consider it purely optional!

This is just as QUICK as the famous sweet potato casserole, despite the fact that it starts with fresh rather than canned sweet potato.

It’s very EASY, too. It’s very much like roasting vegetables, which anyone can do.

It is much CHEAPer than a regular sweet potato casserole because there are no marshmallows or sweetened condensed milk, both of which add at least $1 to the cost.

It is so. much. HEALTHY-er than that other recipe, too. Aside from the little bit of sugar, the ingredients are all very basic, good-for-you ingredients.

Add it to your Thanksgiving menu!


Here are some other great ideas if you are bringing a dish to a Thanksgiving or Christmas celebration:





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