This week, in Saturday Sidebar, our World Moms share their favorite sweet potato recipes for a cause.
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So, now what does Sweet Potatoes have to do with ONE Moms and World Moms Blog?
Malnutrition claims the lives of well over three million children a year. Sweet potatoes have the power to provide much-needed nutrients like vitamins C, A and B6 to undernourished children, helping to avert stunting and ensuring proper growth. On top of that, sweet potatoes are relatively cheap to produce and easy to grow in uncertain conditions, perfect for regions prone to drought and famine. ONE members signed the petition urging world leaders to reduce chronic child malnutrition for 25 million children by 2016.
This Saturday, the World Moms chimed in with how they do it at their home. Check out some of the recipes from around the world.
Sweet potato dish prepared by Susie Newday of Israel
Susie Newday of Israel writes:
The link to a mouthwatering sweet potato dish which can be eaten hot or cold is here.”
Ana Gaby@Stumble Abroad of Indonesia writes:
“We love to slice the potatoes and bake them. The resulting texture is very unique, crunchy but soft, yum!!! I use the recipe which is available here. This salsa is just amazing, too! Tangy and a bit spicy perfect to counteract with the sweetness of the SP!”
Carol @ If By Yes of British Columbia, Canada writes:
“My mother’s sweet potato casserole. I make it every thanksgiving and former roommates call me for the recipe. Its mashed sweet potatoes with cinnamon, egg, and butter baked in a casserole dish covered in a walnut and brown sugar topping. So delicious!”
Jenna Farelyn of North Carolina, USA writes:
“Vanilla Sweet Potato Soufflé: 4 cups boiled sweet potatoes, 1 cup sugar, 3 eggs, 1 Tablespoon vanilla, 1/3 cup butter. Mix together. Pour into buttered 1 quart dish, Bake 30 minutes at 350. (Optional topping: 1/3 cup butter, 1 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup flour, 1 cup chopped pecans. Mix topping ingredients together and sprinkle over top of soufflé. With topping, cooking time remains same: 30 minutes at 350)”
Jennifer Burden of New Jersey, USA writes:
“I once read “Guns, Germs and Steel” by Jared Diamond and remember he talked about how replacing the white potato with the sweet potato in the Amazon made a big difference because something like the sweet potato has all but one amino acid that we need to survive and it also has more vitamins. So, the switch was making a big difference to the health of the people who were living off of them. Here’s a tip that I got from my friend Darlene. Microwave a sweet potato until it gets soft — say 3-5 minutes depending on its size. Slice it in half in the middle, with the two ends on either side. Let it cool, and she would give it to her kids as a snack that they could squeeze out of the skin!”
JPrestholdt of Minnesota, USA writes:
“I grew up in Louisiana, where sweet potatoes are a regular part of the diet. Here is a recipe for Sweet Potato Pones (a kind of bread): 4 large sweet potatoes, 2 eggs, 1 cup milk, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup molasses, 1/2 cup butter, 1/2 tsp each of nutmeg, cinnamon and ground cloves, 1 lemon rind (grated), 1/2 orange rind (grated). Grate raw potatoes, lemon and orange. Beat eggs and sugar, then add everything together. Pour into greased baking dish and bake for one hour in 325-350 degree oven. Cut and serve hot or cold.”
MamaMzunga of Kenya writes:
“Sweet potato and black bean quesadillas were a stable when we lived in the US. Just sauté some onions and garlic and season with cumin. Shred 1 large sweet potato and add to the mixture with 1-2 cans of black beans. This is the filling. To make the quesadilla, just lightly oil or butter a pan, place a tortilla and then top with a layer of shredded cheese (Monterrey jack or cheddar), the mixture, another layer of cheese and then another tortilla. Flip carefully to heat on other side. Remove and enjoy with salsa or sour cream. Yum.
We live in an area in which one of the sweet potato campaigns is happening (Western Kenya, Nyanza province). I have yet to see an orange sweet potato (you can buy a “sweet potato” but its whitish inside and not all that sweet or nutritious), but can imagine it going over quite well. A very popular potato is the “Irish” potato, and that is not indigenous, so I can imagine (and hope) that this will take off as well. You’d be surprised at the food that’s not indigenous but that people take too. E.g. Before the discovery of the “new world” Italians knew not the tomato!!
I wrote a sweet potato recipe on my blog.”
Maman Aya of New York, USA writes:
“You know what we are all referring to as sweet potatoes (the orange flesh Ina reddish/brown skin) is actually called a yam? We have them several times a week in our house, but the kids’ favorite is a casserole, where I alternate slices of yam and apple. Sprinkle cinnamon over the entire thing, put a few pats of butter around it and put it in the oven. Bake at 350 F degrees (around 175 C) for about half an hour until it is cooked through. It’s so yummy!”
Purnima of India writes:
Cook the sweet potato, make small pieces and roast them in clarified butter. Add it to boiled milk and soak them. Soak cashew and almonds for four hours and make a fine paste of them. Add saffron, cardamom and sugar to this fine paste and mix in the soaked sweet potatoes in milk. Serve it hot. It is a sweet dish eaten hot (temperature).
Polish Mom Photographer of California, USA writes:
“I follow a recipe from this site here. They are great as a side dish or a main dish with a slice of French bread”
What about you? If you have a mouth-watering sweet potato recipe, share it with us as a comment to this post.
And do you have a question you would like to pose to our WMB writers? If so, email us at wmbsidebareditor@gmail.com to see what they have to say.
– World Moms Blog
The Saturday Sidebar has been compiled and edited by our World Mom, Purnima of India.
Photo credit to World Mom Susie from Israel.
This is a terrific compilation of recipes 🙂
Sweet potatoes were one of the earliest foods I introduced to my son when he started solids. And they’re still his favourite till today.
I often make sweet potato fries as a more nutrition packed side to have with meals. Just slice into wedges or strips, toss in olive oil and a little salt+pepper and bake in 180 celcius oven for about 15 minutes. I also vary it by adding different herbs and spices to jazz things up.
This post has me rethinking my side dishes that I serve at Thanksgiving in the US! Mmmmmm!!
I’ll be following the hashtag #ONEMoms as they’re on their trip to Ethiopia this week!
Jen 🙂
Thanks all for the yummy sweet potato recipes, we love them too and mostly have it roasted, mashed or as chips sometimes. Will be testing a few of these recipes. Thanks again to all who posted recipes.