Miso Whipped Sweet Potatoes

If you’ve been following all of my Thanksgiving recipe series, you’re probably about to ask yourself:

“Will this bitch ever shut up about not growing up in America and first discovering these foods when she moved here?”

And the answer is…no.

No I will not.

Soooooo…welcome to episode episode 5 of the Thanksgiving series, and your fifth anecdote of Hiwa discovering new world foods.

Hiwa Meets Sweet Potatoes

If you don’t already know, I was born in Germany and lived there till I was 11. Not to age myself, but back then there was far less globalization in food, and there were many American classics I never discovered till I moved here:

cranberries, avocados, Mexican food, texmex, mac and cheese, sushi, and, as I’m sure you could surmise from the heading of this section, sweet potatoes.

And when I first tried them…I was not a fan.

Kinda surprising because I usually love a sweet moment in savory dishes. Berries in a salad? Fuck me up! Mango salsa? Will always be my first choice. Corn on pizza? Your girl grew up in Germany!

But something about the flavor profile of sweet potatoes was a bit off-putting to me.

[a topic for another time: there’s actually a lot of science behind why new foods don’t always taste good to us. from an evolutionary standpoint, humans developed a “neophobic” response, where unfamiliar foods could trigger wariness or even disgust. this was a protective mechanism to avoid potentially toxic substances, as new, untested foods carried unknown risks. from a gut health perspective, some studies suggest that when you eat certain foods repeatedly, microbes that thrive on those foods flourish and may promote cravings for similar foods. Introducing new foods disrupts this balance, potentially reducing your desire for them initially until the microbiome adapts.]

Hiwa Starts to Like Sweet Potatoes

The first time I kinda enjoyed sweet potatoes was at my first Thanksgiving, when they were loaded with melted marshmallows. Sweet potatoes were meh, but marshmallows…those babies I fucked with.

But the first time I liked sweet potatoes for sweet potatoes, rather than for the insulin spike that their sugar-in-sheeps-clothing accompaniment gave me, was the first time we did Thanksgiving at our house.

The first few years that we lived in the U.S., we were always invited to Thanksgiving at other people’s homes. But a few years in, my parents hosted for the first time. My mom was a Farsi teacher at the time, and one of her students gave her all of her Thanksgiving recipes.

Included in them was a garlicky whipped sweet potato dish that I died for. My family continued to host Thanksgiving every year thereafter, and my mom’s sweet potatoes were always a massive hit.

When I went vegan, I was devastated that I couldn’t have my mom’s sweet potatoes; but, a few years ago I made my own vegan version of them, with a flair, and this year they got a massive upgrade: a homemade pumpkin spice granola topping. How cute!

she’s cute

This Dish

miso-whipped sweet potatoes topped with homemade pumpkin spice granola

The Benefits

really good for your nervous system, mood, and gut health:

  • sweet potatoes are one of the best things you can eat for your MOOD & brain health: they are a great source of tryptophan, an amino acid that is a precursor to serotonin, which is the mood-regulation neurotransmitter; and they’re rich in vitamin B6, which is also necessary for serotonin production. when pairing sweet potatoes with oats & nuts, the tryptophan in sweet potatoes is actually more absorbable than in turkey because tryptophan needs complex carbohydrates to cross the blood-brain barrier more easily\

  • the combo of miso & garlic gives you probiotics AND prebiotics, which helps the beneficial bacteria better colonize the gut. this is great for improving your gut health & reducing bloating; but also for your mood & stress levels

  • quinoa, garlic, oats, sweet potatoes, and dates are all excellent sources of fiber, which is crucial for maintaining gut health, emotional resilience, and de-puffing

  • spices in pumpkin spice, like cinnamon, have been linked to improved cognitive function and may promote feelings of relaxation due to their antioxidant properties. cinnamon is also great for blood sugar control, so it’s a great spice to pair with anything sweet; and all of the spices in pumpkin spice mix are great digestive aids

  • brazil nuts & walnuts contain healthy fats, vitamin E, and selenium; which is crucial for brain health and has been linked to improved mood and reduced anxiety; & is particularly helpful for neurotransmitter functioning, which supports mood stability

  • by switching cream & butter for coconut cream, we keep the potatoes RICH but remove the inflammatory ingredients; and by subbing marshmallows with the granola we keep sweetness, add crunch, but remove the sugar & processed ingredients that cause bloating, unstable moods, and inflammation

The Recipe

Sweet Potatoes Ingredients:

  • 4 small-ish sweet potatoes

  • 1 can coconut cream

  • 3 cloves garlic

  • 3 tbsp white miso

Pumpkin Spice Granola Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup pitted medjool dates

  • 1/4 cup water

  • 1 cup rolled oats

  • 1/2 cup puffed quinoa

  • 1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used walnuts & Brazil nuts because they are great for brain health, mood, and thyroid health, but you can use whatever! Pecans and cashews would be really nice tbh)

  • 1 tbsp pumpkin spice spice mix

Instructions:

  • preheat oven to 425F convection bake

  • meanwhile, add coconut cream & garlic to a small saucepan on LOW heat. allow them to simmer until the mixture starts to bubble, then turn the heat off

  • roast sweet potatoes until they cook through--depends on the size of your sweet potatoes, but roughly 25-30 minutes?

  • peel sweet potatoes & blend with the coconut/garlic mixture & miso

  • for the granola:

    1. blend dates with water until smooth

    2. crush the nuts or chop them up a bit

    3. mix all the dry ingredients together until everything is well coated & spread

    4. add date caramel & mix

    5. spread on a baking sheet, spray with a little avocado oil, and bake (425F convection bake) for roughly 7-10 minutes, or until everything is crunchy but not quite burned yet

adding the coconut milk mixture to the potatoes to blend

Logistics:

  • The granola is more than enough for this recipe--I used that 1 batch of granola on the sweet potatoes, on another recipe, and still had leftovers

  • The sweet potatoes feed maybe 4 or so people? Obvi depends on how much they eat lol, but if you have a large group, I would double the recipe

  • You could make this a few days ahead of time & reheat, but I do think it's better fresh?

  • I would definitely make the granola ahead of time though

Links:

For More on Gut-Friendly Recipes

If you like this recipe, you may also enjoy my the Miso Pumpkin Hummus from the Thanksgiving series; the Thanksgiving-Themed DeBloat Gummies; and my Truffle Potatoes;

and

If you want more recipes that will help you debloat & eliminate regularly, I highly recommend checking out my [free] Gut Health Cookbook, which has 5 yummy, gut-friendly, recipes. You can download it here.


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Blood Orange Cranberry Sauce

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Sugar Free & Healthy “Canned Style” Cranberry Jelly