Easy bean salad with corn and avocado

After the blazing sunshine of a week ago, we are back to more typical April weather with cooler temperatures and some grey skies. Nonetheless, there is progress towards warmth and the sunshine of last week offers a glimpse of what is to come.

Outdoor eating from a week ago

This salad was a perfect match for the sunshine and it would be a great barbecue side dish for the summer months. It is extremely simple - kidney beans, sweetcorn kernels, coriander and avocado. I served it with sweet potato on the side, but you could mix it all together if you prefer. A drizzle of balsamic vinegar is all the end product needs and even that is optional.

 

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African sweet potato and tomato quinoa

I've become very partial to the African flavour mix of sweet potato, smoky tomato or paprika, and creamy peanut butter. This dish is a simple twist on this classic combination and it is satisfying, comforting and tasty. It's also very easy.

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Sweet potato, raspberry and avocado flapjacks

These are not your typical flapjacks. Most, after all, do not involve avocado. These are also less sweet than a standard flapjack mix and more colourful.

Whilst these are unconventional, they are tasty. The avocado stands in for butter / margarine but doesn't overwhelm in flavour (I couldn't detect it at all) while the sweet potato and raspberries work in harmony to provide subtle sweetness. The only other ingredients are oats, vanilla and (non-dairy) milk. It is a simple and effective mix.

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Sweet potato and spinach nuggets

'Tater tots' are one of those American products that I have heard of for many years without quite knowing what they are. (Other examples, although I set these ones to rest when I visited America a few years back, include graham crackers and Twinkies.) It turns out, according to Wikipedia, that they are "pieces of deep fried, grated potatoes". I am saying all of this because I adapted today's recipe from these spinach sweet potato tater tots on Physical Kitchness. I could have called my adaptation tater tots too, but as I am such a novice to the term and these don't feature frying or grated potato, I am using the more generic 'nugget' instead.

Terminology aside, these are delicious whatever you choose to call them. Since making them the first time, I have done a repeat batch with kale instead of spinach and they were just as good. They are a very easy side dish and, if you have children, perfect for little hands to grasp.

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Sweet potato overnight oats

Some of you may have seen recent findings that link 10 serves of fruit and vegetables a day to reduced rates of cancer, cardiovascular disease and stroke, as well as overall mortality. The current UK guidelines advocate 5 serves a day and that level offers protection too - but 10 gives significantly greater benefits.

There have been predictable responses to these results, including comments about it being too hard to achieve a 10 per day intake, and I enjoyed this lighthearted Guardian commentary on the topic. I grew up with the Australian recommendation of 5 vegetable and 2 fruit serves a day, so 10 of both food groups isn't such a shift for me, especially as plant-based eating naturally gives a higher intake than meat-based diets. However, it can be tough to get enough serves in when you're busy and/or if buying food on the go. Thus, getting off to a good start at breakfast can make a big difference.

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Blueberry and sweet potato mug cake {vegan + fat free}

Mug cakes are excellent for when time is short and/or you want cake in a hurry. They are also handy for making single serve treats and, in this case, using up small amounts of leftover ingredients. I don't really need help with using sweet potato or blueberries - both are foods I'll happily snack on plain - but they are given a boost in this easy recipe.

In truth, this should probably be called a mug pudding as the texture is softer than a traditional cake. With a third of a cup of sweet potato in the mix that is perhaps not surprising. Happily, as you will eat this from the mug with a spoon, a pudding-like texture presents no problems.

This is not overly sweet, which allows the natural sweetness of the sweet potato and blueberries to shine through. However, it would be easy to increase the added sugar if you so desire. As I made it, this could almost be served for breakfast, which I think is a winning outcome.

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Chocolate orange sweet potato pudding (optionally for Halloween)

All over the blogosphere, Halloween recipes are being shared showing cute treats and spooky meals. I had notions of joining in with some sweet potato witches, decorated with raisins and chocolate sauce. Alas, my creative talents were clearly not up to the task and I post the image below for your amusement only. I can't recommend the product as something worthy of sharing with anyone other than yourself!

A slight fail...

Given the messiness of my so-called witches, I turned them into a pudding instead. This worked just fine although no longer looks particularly Halloween like. It is, however, enjoyable to eat. I'm going to claim that is the main thing, especially as I associate Halloween with the US and I am not American!

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Spiced satay pineapple beans in sweet potato

With our weekly pizza making and love of tinned pineapple on pizza, we regularly have leftover pineapple in the fridge. It can end up in smoothies, on cereal, in baking, or just eaten plain. Occasionally it ends up in stir fries. Last week, it inspired this meal.

This is one of those simple dishes that barely constitutes a recipe. You can make it with store cupboard staples (presuming your staples are like mine and include tinned beans, pineapple, peanut butter and spices) and it takes all of 5 minutes to throw together. The bean mix could top a regular jacket potato instead of sweet potato, or be paired with rice or couscous or quinoa. It does work brilliantly with sweet potato though.

I served this with asparagus which is in season here at the moment. Asparagus isn't my favourite vegetable, but I do take pleasure in eating it in season when the flavours are at their peak.

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Sweet potato and date muffins

It is a sign of how long I've been blogging that I am no longer sure of what is on my own site. Case in point: last weekend I went to find my sweet potato and date muffin recipe, only to discover I didn't have a sweet potato and date muffin recipe. Or at least I didn't - I am pleased to rectify the situation now.

These muffins were exactly what I wanted last weekend. They are sweetened only by dates and sweet potato, so they are semi rather than very sweet. They are dense and have a crumb-like texture, but also sit gently on the stomach and are moist from the natural ingredients. They aren't gluten free, but by using spelt flour and oats they also pack more nutrition than standard wheat flour muffins.

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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.

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Satay sweet potato noodles

Do you read Gena's beautiful blog Choosing Raw? If you do, you may have spotted her curried peanut sweet potato noodles last month. Gena's noodles were beautifully photographed and looked delicious. My version is not as well photographed but I promise was still delicious!

I was actually unsure about these noodles on the first night I had them. However, the leftovers I took to work the next day were great. I think the overnight sitting time allowed the noodles to soak up more flavours and soften a little. You could achieve the same result by making more sauce (which Gena actually did) and allowing the noodles to stand a bit before serving. I have updated my recipe to incorporate these changes.

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Stuffed sweet potatoes with tahini, sun dried tomatoes and paprika

Meal planning. Are you for it or against it? I've tended to be neutral in a sounds-good-but-it's-beyond-me kind of way. However, with the move and longer commuting times, I'm giving it another go. I suspect the meal plans will be flexible and variable, but we'll see how things work out!

One of the meals on our new plan (and a meal we had quite often before too) is stuffed jacket potatoes. I love British potatoes and the way they're called 'jacket potatoes' when baked and stuffed (in Australia I just called them 'baked potatoes').

I tend to alternate between regular potatoes and sweet potatoes because I love them both. Here, sweet potato was the perfect match for tahini, sun dried tomatoes, paprika and nutritional yeast. It is a combination I recommend and one I'll be making again.

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Sweet potato breakfast pudding {vegan + gluten free}

Regular readers will know that I love to use sweet potato in non-savoury dishes. My caramel sweet potato fudge and chocolate sweet potato ice cream are two prime examples. This sweet potato pudding is made in the same theme, although it's a much simpler affair.

This is so simple, in fact, that I hesitate to call it a recipe. Basically, it is mashed sweet potato with vanilla and desiccated coconut, topped with cacao nibs and blueberries. If you have children, I suspect they could make it. I suspect they would enjoy it too, but you may not want to share it with them.

This tastes clearly of sweet potato, but the natural sweetness of the vegetable is enhanced beautifully by vanilla and coconut. The tart sweetness of blueberries provides a flavour contrast and the rich crunch of cacao nibs provides a texture contrast. It all comes together to taste delicious whilst also being jam-packed full of nutrition. Getting a serve of vegetables in at breakfast is always a bonus!

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Harissa-spiced tofu, beetroot and sweet potato salad

I had trouble titling this recipe because I felt like all of the ingredients were stars. However, harissa-spiced tofu, beetroot, sweet potato, carrot, broccoli and kale salad with lemon and mint was too much of a mouthful. Rest assured, though, that you'll appreciate all of the ingredients in this dish should you choose to make it.

I don't mind confessing that the harissa in this came from a jar. I bought it on the same shopping trip that gave me preserved lemon paste. Both were impulse buys, but useful ones that have given rise to some new recipe ideas. For this salad, the harissa was key in flavouring the tofu and I balanced the spice out with lemon juice and mint.  I am still quite new to cooking with harissa but really enjoy the depth of flavour in the spicy paste.

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Spiced sweet potato and kale stew with cashews

If you're like me, you are fond of straightforward meals that deliver flavour, comfort and nutrition without taking hours to prepare. It's relatively easy to tick two of those three boxes (flavour / comfort / nutrition) but sometimes getting all three is tricky!

Happily, this dish satisfied all of my meal requirements. With a whole foods and vegetable based ingredient list, it is definitely nutrition-packed. The sweet potato and nutritional yeast give a creaminess to the dish, lending comfort, and spices and cashews round out the flavour profile.

Oh, and you only need one pan and not much time.

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Caramel sweet potato fudge {London marathon fundraising}

It is with some trepidation that I write this post. There are now just 9 days to go until the London marathon, and this will be my final fundraising post for the event. It has come up so quickly! Whilst in many ways I feel prepared, it is also daunting to think that race day is so soon. I suspect that this week will be all about mental preparation as my physical activity tapers off and the 26th April draws steadily closer.

Fundraising recipes

Since my introductory fundraising post I have shared 12 further recipes for this series. I really hope that you have enjoyed them, and that they may prompt you to consider making a small contribution via my fundraising site. I am incredibly grateful to those of you who have already done so. If you had planned to contribute and are yet to do so, now is definitely the time! Donations of any size add up to make a difference and everything goes directly to Beat, the UK eating disorder charity. No amount is too small and anything and everything is greatly appreciated.

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Paprika-spiced sweet potato, bean and tahini patties {London marathon fundraising}

At first glance, these sweet potato patties may not look very exciting. I am sure we've all come across sweet potato veggie burgers before, and nice as they may be, they're not exactly novel. However, I can say with all honesty that these are the best veggie patties, of any type, that I have ever had! The texture is almost cake like, and the flavours are sweet and smoky and full-bodied and altogether delightful.

I am particularly taken with these because I made the recipe up as I went along. It could have turned out terribly. Instead, it seems I was channeling some hitherto unseen kitchen intuition. I wouldn't change a thing next time around. I think the magic ingredient was besan (chickpea) flour, which I suspect lends these patties their cake-like texture. Savoury cakes probably don't sound very nice, but I promise these work!

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Apple, date and sweet potato butter

This is a delightfully simple recipe. It is a cross between a puree and a spread, and is well suited to topping crumpets, pancakes or even porridge (oatmeal). It would also make a nice base for muffins or other baking, and tastes rather good straight off a spoon.

I left my butter relatively chunky, but you could make it smoother if you wanted to. I used the large bowl of my food processor, which was a little too large for the volume of ingredients, resulting in the butter getting stuck around the edges of the bowl. I liked the chunky texture myself, but a smaller food processor bowl or blender, with longer processing time, would smooth things out if you prefer.

I found this tasted of sweet potato initially, but the dates and apples quickly followed. I kept it naturally sweet, so the only other ingredient I used was vanilla. If you were using the butter in baking, or just wanted a sweeter spread, some maple syrup would be a nice partner.

Apple, date and sweet potato butter

A great base for baking, or a stand alone spread for crumpets or pancakes

Makes approximately 2 cups

Vegan, low fat and gluten free

Food processor or high speed blender required

Author: Bite-Sized Thoughts

Print recipe

Ingredients

1 cup (180g) loosely packed pitted dates

1 large apple, quartered to give approximately 150g apple segments

1 medium sweet potato, cooked and cooled, to give approximately 1 cup (180g) of sweet potato pieces

1 tsp vanilla

Method

Combine the dates and apple in a food processor or blender and process until coursely ground. Add the sweet potato and vanilla and process to your desired consistency.

Store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

 What spreads or butters are you enjoying at the moment?

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Mango, strawberry and sweet potato salad with a 'honey' mustard dressing

Dear readers, this will be a week of short and sweet posts. Our shipment has arrived and our flat is a disaster zone! We are really excited to be reunited with our belongings, but until we get the boxes unpacked and items stowed away, it is an obstacle course getting from room to room. Making dinner last night involved a narrow path from fridge to stove, and shuffling of boxes to get to the sink. It is tricky. I am also unsure why we (I) shipped so much. Living without much for  4 months has changed my views on 'essential'. I could have abandoned a lot more in Perth.

Mango, strawberry and sweet potato salad with a 'honey' mustard dressing

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Jerk spiced sweet potato fries with lemon-paprika lentils

Are you familiar with jerk seasoning? Our new neighbourhood has a strong Caribbean influence, so Jamaican dishes are common and jerk chicken is available on every other corner. Obviously jerk chicken doesn't hold much appeal to me, but the spice mix itself is full of things I like: chilli, ginger, coriander, cinnamon, lime and pepper, amongst other things. You could make the spice mix up from scratch, but I opted to pick up a prepared version from the supermarket. It is spicy, salty, a little sweet (the mix I bought has some added sugar) and very moreish. When the spice mix is paired with sweet potato fries, the result is very moreish!

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