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Sweet Potatoes for Breakfast




A little over a year ago my husband and I tried to do whole 30. If you are not familiar with what this is, you eliminate a lot of things (sugar, dairy, gluten, etc.) from your diet for 30 days to try and kickstart a healthier overall diet and mindset about food. There are many good things about the whole 30 philosophy, but for a variety of reasons it did not work for us and we ended up quitting early.

Even though we didn't survive all 30 days I did pick up a few tricks and new recipes in the process. My favorite new discovery was sweet potatoes for breakfast.

Sweet potatoes are incredibly versatile. They are like that dress in your closet that you can dress up or dress down. You know the one, change the shoes and jewelry and all of a sudden you went from work-ready to party-ready. That's how I look at sweet potatoes. Depending on the seasoning they can satisfy your sweet tooth, become a very filling side dish, or add a little variety and excitement to an otherwise boring meal.

During this season of limiting my shopping trips, I like to look for ingredients that can be used in a lot of different ways and store well. Sweet potatoes fit both of those categories.

So let's talk about sweet potato breakfast bowls.

The basis of a sweet potato bowl is simply a cooked sweet potato. I like to cook several at once when I have time in an evening and place them in individual size portions in the fridge for quick and easy morning prep. Feel free to choose your favorite way to cook but below are two very easy options.

1. Oven-baked
  • Wash potato
  • Poke holes in potato to let the steam out
  • Place on a baking sheet (you can use foil if you have it, but it will be fine without if you don't have any)
  • Bake at 425 degrees for 40-50 minutes. The potato should be very tender
Pros: you can bake a bunch at once 
Cons: it takes almost an hour

2. Microwave
  • Wash potato
  • Poke holes in potato to let the steam out
  • Microwave potato for 5 minutes. If it doesn't feel tender when poked with a fork microwave in 30-second increments until it does
Pros: It only takes 5 minutes and I don't notice a difference in the taste
Cons: you can only do a few at a time

After you have a cooked sweet potato you will want to remove the skin and mash the insides.

Once you have your base ready you can now start on the fun part, adding toppings. There is a wide variety of toppings that taste great on sweet potatoes making this a really easy breakfast meal that is not dependant on specific ingredients. I am listing some of my favorite toppings below.
  • Fruit: I love blueberries, apples, and bananas but you could really use any fruit
  • Nuts: Pecans and walnuts work wonderfully
  • Cinnamon
  • Peanut Butter (or almond butter)
  • Honey
  • Maple syrup
  • Butter
Combine toppings with potato as desired and enjoy! 



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