Saturday, January 30, 2010

Things to Do With Sweet Potatoes?

I have a ridiculous amount of sweet potatoes.  The box says 40 lbs.  So far I've only thought to do the following things: baked, sweet potato fries, and dehydrate for dog treats.  So any suggestions or recipes?  None that involve marshmallows or sweet potato pie, please.  Blech.

Besides swimming in sweet potatoes, I've been keeping up with my plan.  Since my internship is over and the new semester began, I've been trying to walk two times a day (before and after class).  I've also been doing cardio and a little bit of yoga.  I feel great.  My jeans are starting to get super loose and I feel stronger and more flexible when I stretch.  What a difference a month makes!

I don't feel like listing an entire week's worth of food so I'll just tell you about this awesome black bean soup I made.


I don't have a recipe but it was a pound of dried black beans soaked over night.  I added onion and garlic when I cooked the beans.  Once they were tender, I added ancho and chipotle chili powders, salt, pepper, liquid smoke, orange zest, chunks of carrot and celery, and frozen corn.  Once all the veggies were tender I added the juice from an orange.  So smoky and good.  I served it with polenta just because.

Exercise For 1-23 to 1-29
Sat: 20 min walking
Sun: None
Mon: 40 min walking
Tues: 40 min walking
Wed: 1+ hour cardio kickboxing and dancing
Thurs: 20 min walking
Fri: 40 min walking

I've surpassed my monthly goal of 8 lbs and am almost to my first goal, which means gluten is in my future.  When I start eating gluten again, I'm aiming for no more than twice a week at first.

Anyway, I hope all of you had a splendid January.  The month just flew on by!  More to come soon.

12 comments:

Mihl said...

Fourty pounds? Yikes. I think they would be great in soup. I like savoury pumpkin soups with peppers, tomatoes, and chipotle. Something similar with sweet potatoes would be nice too, if you ask me. Maybe topped with cilantro or parsley. Or sweet potato chili? Good luck with them.
That black bean soup look stunning, Mo.

Andrea said...

40 pounds of sweet potatoes would scare me. It's really a lot! You can bake them, stuff with spicy black beans and top with avocado; cook them in lentil soup; make a peanut stew with sweet potatoes in it, grate them peeled and raw into a salad with a dijon vinaigrette.

Congratulations on sticking to an exercise routine. I've been sticking to yoga but slipping on the walking.

Anonymous said...

sweet potato soup! many possibilities. Probably not very healthy-eating-friendly, but how about sweet potato muffins? Also, that looks like a damn fine bowl of soup you made.

x said...

Congratulations! :D

And there's a sweet potato and peanut stew in Vegan Planet that is delish (if you want the recipe, let me know!)

Monique a.k.a. Mo said...

Okay these are great ideas. I think I'm also gonna cut some up and freeze them. Maybe do some baked goods and freeze them as well.

Jenn said...

The black bean soup looks wonderful. Enjoy your sweet potatoes!

Amey said...

Congrats on your positive progress with your goals, that's really great!

As for 40 lbs of sweet potatoes - I am jealous!! I love sweet potatoes. You can use sweet potato mush in place of pumpkin for lots of things. Do you have that little zine "Swell"? There's a great recipe in there for Sweet Potato & Cranberry Scones. Of course I always think of baking ideas.

I agree with others that they're good in soups, and chilis. Great with Mexi flavors. And African flavors - greens and peanuts and such.

Also, I sometimes roast them and give the moosh to my dogs and cats with their breakfast. They LOVE it.

LJ said...

Congrats, Mo, on your progress! I know you're proud of yourself, and we're all proud of you too!

And wow, I don't even know where to begin with that many sweet potatoes! But I'm looking forward to seeing some of your ideas! ;)

LJ

laura said...

this sweet potato and red lentil soup is awesome. i opt for frying the onions in a little oil.

The Kuntrageous Vegan said...

there's a curried hummus made with sweet potatoes that is amazing. i suggest trying to find a recipe for veggie burgers that's heavy on sweet potatoes so you can freeze them; or make tons of puree and freeze it for future use. sweet potato enchiladas? sweet potato-black bean chili?

dreaminitvegan said...

Wonderful looking dish. The smokiness added to it sounds wonderful. Good for you on your goal.

also have you tried the sweet potato black bean enchos? they rock!

Luciana said...

I love to make a curried red lentil, sweet potato, and kale soup. They're also good just plain with lots of fresh ginger and dried apricots or apricot jam.