Sensational sweet potato smoothie

Are you sitting down?

I have something fabulous to share with you on this fine Monday. (By the way, I’m writing to you from my parent’s house in Florida, where I’ve been enjoying the warm weather and a little R&R since arriving yesterday. I’ve got just one more day of hanging with the family, and I’m back off to San Francisco tomorrow.)

Now on to the good stuff.

It’s a new smoothie creation, featuring one of my favorite foods: the sweet potato.

This one came about because I’ve been experimenting with different combinations of veggies and fruits in my Nutribullet recently. I’ve had some hits and some misses, and up until now, my best one had been this must-try green smoothie made with zucchini.

Thickie vs. smoothie

Today’s recipe actually fits into the category of a “thickie,” meaning it’s almost too thick to suck through a straw in smoothie form. But I’ll call it a smoothie to avoid confusion.

The ingredient list is minimal, just how I like it.

Sensational sweet potato smoothie recipe:

• 1 small sweet potato
• 1 cup of almond milk
• 1 cup of spinach
• 1 tablespoon of almond butter
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
• OPTIONAL: 2 packets of Stevia for extra sweetness

Directions:

1. Bake the sweet potato. All you need to do is wash the skin, poke a few holes with a fork in each side, wrap it in a wet paper towel and microwave it on both sides for about five minutes each. Once it is baked through, place it in the freezer to cool for about 20 minutes.
2. Once cooled, chop up the potato into smaller pieces. You can remove the skin or leave it on. I left it on, because I think the skin is the best part.
3. Combine the sweet potato, almond milk, spinach, cinnamon and almond butter in your blending device.
4. Add a few cubes of ice on top.
5. OPTIONAL: Add in some extra sweetener.
6. Mix around until smooth, and serve.

What comes out is a true taste sensation. I know it sounds weird, but it’s even more enjoyable than a milkshake.

It’s like a healthy sweet-pie-flavored-thick-and-delicious-colorful-meal-beverage that you won’t want to end. I had Dave try a taste too, and he agreed that it was pretty awesome.

If you don’t add the spinach, the end result will probably be completely orange, but mine had more of a greenish tint.

Delicious and good for you

Not only is the Sensational Sweet Potato Smoothie tasty, but it’s also full of nutrients. The sweet potato is packed with good stuff, including magnesium, iron, vitamin C, beta carotene and more.

While doing a little research on sweet potatoes, I found that you can only get the full beta-carotene benefits of a sweet potato if you eat it along with food containing fat, therefore the almond butter in this recipe fulfills that need.

So good!

Questions of the day

Do you make smoothies at home? What’s the strangest smoothie combination you’ve ever made? Or maybe, how was your weekend?