jeweled sweet potatoes 

Oh my word!

Can something this decadent really be good for you and eat like dinner or dessert?

Oh, yes!

With Thanksgiving and Christmas fast approaching, I wanted to create a simple, but scrumptious, side dish recipe.

This dish is inspired by two things… cranberry sauce and sweet potato casserole. Both of these traditional holiday dishes are loaded with sugar. Combine that with the desserts that often follow, and you have a recipe for a major sugar crash.

It’s my personal mission to show that it’s possible to thoroughly enjoy what is on your plate, without regretting what you ate afterward. 

A fun way of presenting this is to keep each of the topping separate which allows your guests (or family) to customize the sweet potato to their liking. 

If you try this, come back and tell me what you think! And don’t forget to check out my Facebook  page for daily health inspiration and fun!

Jeweled Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes (1/person)
Arils (seeds) from 1 pomegranite
Cran-raspberry sauce
Cinnamon toasted pecans
Coconut whip

For the sweet potatoes, cut in half and place the flesh side down on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 F for 45 minutes-1 hour or until the sweet potatoes are thoroughly cooked. Use a spatula to loosen them from the cookie sheet.

Cran-raspberry Sauce
8 oz frozen raspberries
4 oz cranberries, fresh or frozen
1 T white grape juice concentrate

Place all ingredients in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Once the juice starts to boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook 5 to 10 minutes until the fruit breaks down. Use a potato masher to help break up the cranberries. Sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Cinnamon-toasted Pecans
1/2 c pecans
1/16 tsp salt
1/2 tsp olive oil
1/4 tsp cinnamon

1) Add pecans to a dry sauce pan. Toast the pecans over high heat, stirring constantly, until the nuts become fragrant. This only takes about 2 to 3 minutes. Watch carefully as that nuts can easily burn.

2) Add the toasted pecans to a food processor along with the remaining ingredients and pulse until roughly crumbled. Do you not over process or the nuts will begin to release their oils.

3) Store pecans in an airtight jar. Does not have to be refrigerated.

Coconut Whip
Cream from one 14-oz can of full fat coconut milk
1/2 scoop 100% pure stevia
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1) To make sure you get only the cream from the coconut milk, place in a refrigerator overnight.
2)Carefully scoop out the cream from the can into a bowl.
3)Add stevia and vanilla and without using a beater or fork.
4)Pour into a jar. Can be stored for several days in the fridge.

To assemble the potatoes:
Place potatoes flesh side up on a plate and spoon on the cran-raspberry sauce, pecans, coconut whip and sprinkle on the pomegranate arils.

Recipe Note
You may want to make up extra sweet potatoes for leftovers.