Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Sweet potato, berry and pecan breakfast bowl

I feel a little sheepish sharing this before Thanksgiving. The blogging world is filled with intricate, dramatic recipes for tomorrow's holiday and this is very much neither. It's also very similar to my sweet potato breakfast pudding of earlier this year (this dish is even simpler!). At the same time, after Thanksgiving is over, some of you may want a simple breakfast to recover with. For those of us not in America, this breakfast can offset some of the rushed and/or food heavy days that characterise this time of year. It also tastes really good for something with three core ingredients.


I got extra pleasure from this because I was aware, while eating it, how much it characterised the difference between my tastes and those of Mr Bite. Mr Bite dislikes sweet potato and nuts and he barely tolerates berries. I couldn't resist sharing my ingredient list with him as we sat opposite each other over the weekend papers. Not surprisingly, he said he was happy to stick with his simple toast.

Toast is all well and good, but this bowl will allow you to start your day with a serving each of vegetables and fruit, as well as some healthy fats and protein from the pecan nuts. I served it warm and on a weekend when we had snow (briefly, but snow nonetheless!) it was just the thing to counter the cold. It could be enjoyed cold if you are soaking up southern hemisphere heat.


If the idea of plain sweet potato and berries doesn't excite you enough, this could be adapted to add liquid sweetener, cinnamon, vanilla, coconut, or the cacao nibs that I've paired with sweet potato before. I got pleasure from the simplicity of the dish, but can see myself trying a variation with extra ingredients in the future...sweet potato breakfasts seem to be a growing trend in my kitchen.

Sweet potato, berry and pecan breakfast bowl
An easy, nutritious breakfast for one
Vegan, gluten free

Author: Bite-sized thoughts


Ingredients
Approximately 150g sweet potato, weighed with skin (half a large sweet potato), cooked, peeled and roughly mashed
1/2 cup to 1 cup of berries of choice, fresh or frozen
Few tablespoons of pecan nuts, chopped

Optional extras: Liquid sweetener, cinnamon, vanilla, desiccated coconut, cacao nibs

Method
If serving hot, combine the sweet potato and berries in a small saucepan or microwave-proof bowl. Heat on low-medium power until hot. Stir and roughly mash. Add the chopped pecans.


If serving cold, combine the sweet potato and berries in a bowl, stir, roughly mash, and top with the chopped pecans.

Add any extra ingredients as desired.


What are you enjoying for breakfast this week?

18 comments:

  1. Your bowl is full of ingredients that I would love - sounds good.

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  2. Sweet and simple with just 3 ingredients. Sounds great!

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  3. I would probably prefer toast to sweet potato for breakfast but then again I could probably enjoy both on the weekend while relaxing over the papers (wish this happened in our household!)

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    1. It is probably a perk of living without children...!

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  4. Yum! I love the idea of vegetables for breakfast. This sounds like a real winner :)

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  5. It's all about the pecans for breakfast at the moment! I love veggies for breakfast too - it just gives me so much energy.

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    1. I know, I did think that when I saw your porridge! :D

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  6. I am officially obsessed with having a roasted sweet potato for breakfast, currently with pumpkin seed butter and pepitas. I wish I had followed your lead sooner!

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    1. Ooh, your combination sounds delicious too. Thanks for the idea!

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  7. You've had snow already! Maybe you're in for a white Christmas. While you've had snow, we've had a couple of scorchers. Last Friday was 44C with gusts of wind like when you open a hot oven door, and Thursday was 40C. Things are much more mild today which is a blessing. I think this is a very colourful dish and it must be very comforting to sit inside eating a bowl of this while watching the snow fall outside the window - what a pretty scene! xx

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    1. That really is very hot!! I suspect a bowl of hot sweet potato is far from an ideal way to start the day when it's 40'C :P I hope you're enjoying the milder days xo

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  8. "Mr Bite dislikes sweet potato and nuts and he barely tolerates berries."
    I feel quite sad for Mr. Bite ;p
    This sounds great! I have never had sweet potato for breakfast before, this sounds delicious =) And a lot different than my usual, boring breakfasts.

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  9. Thanks for sharing Janice, we’re glad you liked the recipe! We hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving, and that your friends and family enjoy these as well. I will be trying these! Can I just say I LOVE your blog. Everything I have made is always so delicious! You have the best recipes!

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  10. I love the idea of vegetables for breakfast. This sounds like a real winner

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