Can you believe Thanksgiving is only a week away? This year we are hosting back-to-back Thanksgiving dinners and our refrigerator is so packed, I’ve plugged in an old dorm refrigerator for the extra space, not to mention two coolers which are housing frozen turkeys I’m trying to thaw. Thank goodness I can always depend on the colder Northwest weather to be my ultimate fridge storage if need be.
Because I am a sweet potato lover, I also bought a 40 lbs box of them because they happen to be my current vegetable obsession. As it turns out, orange-fleshed sweet potatoes are an amazing source of beta-carotene which raises the body’s red blood cells due to the increased amounts of vitamin A. And if you’re wondering why vitamin A is important, it is because it helps with vision, gene production, and strengthening the body’s immune system. I love them because they are a fantastic post-workout low-glycemic food. Its slow releasing insulin effect helps with muscle recovery and assists in keeping your metabolism steady. For me, sweet potatoes provide the right type of energy I need before exercising, particularly brisk walking which I try to get in 3 miles a day, at least 3 days a week. I also learned in order to get the maximum nutritional benefit from a sweet potato; it should be prepared with a little bit of fat. Can you say cinnamon butter? Mmmmmmm.
Today I have a super delicious Spiced Sweet Potato Gratin recipe I will be preparing for next week’s gatherings. It is not overly sweet like its traditional marshmallow-brown sugar cousin. Instead, the blend of spices and turbinado (raw) sugar compliments the natural sweetness of the sweet potatoes. This recipe also happens to be gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan.
The full recipe can be found here at my weekly PBS Parents column today. Enjoy!
This looks great, I will give it a go for Sunday roast, thanks
Sweet potatoes are not just tasty, they are also nutritious. Those thin slices looks beautiful!
The colors look amazing…I will have to try this!
These look wonderful! I’m pinning it for later. I’d love it if you’d link up here with me!
Wow!!! I really love sweets and this one looks very very good.
I’m typically skeptical of dishes involving sweet potatoes (recently moved past the flat out refusal to have them), but this looks delicious! I might have to send this one over to my mom to try out sometime this winter.
I wish I had read this post before Thanksgiving. I might have added this to my menu. Still this is an excellent recipe for any gathering… and Christmas is just around the corner.
It was so easy to make and the taste was really good I find you from Google u r blog is great
Thanks
George (Indian food blogger )
http://indianrecipeking.com
I made this wonderful recipe today for our healthy thanksgiving dinner (almost everyone are watching carbs now) and it was a tremendous hit! The ones who I was nervous about serving this to are the ones who enjoyed it the most. I’ll be making this many more times! Thank you so much, Happy Thanksgiving
This looks absolutely mouthwatering! I am huge sweet potato lover!!! Delicious pic!
There is no doubt that sweet potatoes are delicious and healthy. If by any chance, groceries and public markets ran out of sweet potatoes, can we use potatoes for this recipe instead?
Hi,
I’ve not tried it with regular potatoes but I imagine it would be tasty. The recipe works best with orange sweet potatoes because they compliment the spices.
Thanks,
Alice
Love this play on gratin! Vegetables don’t have to be stewed in butter and cream to be delicious and I think this is a nice variation on an old favorite. Happy Thanksgiving!
Christina
http://www.foodiewithalife.com
oh! good to know–thanks 🙂 really looking forward to Parker’s first holidays 🙂
A 40 POUND BOX???? Wow..thats a lot of spuds!
this is a beautiful side dish!
I am also a potato lover like you. This recipe is totally a new one for me. I will definitely try to make it. Those thin slices are really beautiful and appreciable.
That looks so wonderful. Amazing!!!!
Recipes like these make me look forward to Thanksgiving more.
Ruthy: I purchased a new full size food processor last week. I had been wanting one for years and they had them on sale at Macys. What I love most about it is it’s slicing blade. Although I have a hand slicer, sweet potatoes are very hard to slice. You’re better off with a sharp knife! So excited for your 1st Thanksgiving with the new baby!
Those thin slices are beautiful . . . they remind me of the ratatouille rat made at the end of the movie.
This really looks amazing. It looks like I may have a new sweet potato side dish for Thanksgiving.
this looks soooooooo yummy!! how did you slice the potato so perfectly? regular knife?
This is a perfect recipe for the gluten and dairy challenged household I’m going to for Turkey Day! And I think it may be my something I add to my daily recipe repertoire. Huge fan of sweet potatoes and this looks like something I would want ALL THE TIME! Yep, it’s a keeper 🙂