Healthy Prep for Holiday Classics: Sweet Potatoes

Holidays. Don’t you just love bouncing from party to party to see every member of the family in 6 hours? It’s especially fun when the gathering starts at the kids’ naptime; because the only thing better than rushing around on holidays is rushing around on holidays with cranky kids. And then of course there’s the silent wrath that results when you announce you are leaving the in-law party to stop by your family’s party…. Every year Chip proposes vacation during holidays. One of these years I know I’ll accept his proposal, but I also know I will pout because I will miss our families. I guess chaotic holidays are kinda like family drama…. can’t live with it, can’t live without it.

If your holiday pitch-ins are anything like mine, there are 3 staple dishes that always seem to find their way to the table: salty glazed ham, sticky green bean casserole & syrupy sweet potatoes. The ham & sweet potato casserole I actually like… I just cannot eat that kind of sodium or sugar because my muffin top will seriously enlarge overnight. Green Bean casserole just annoys me. When french fried onions from a can are the best component of a dish, we might want to rethink the dish, people! Not to mention the fact that so many tout this casserole as “the vegetable” at the holiday pitch-in. How is a canned green bean, condensed soup, cheese & fried onions a vegetable? It’s not.

With Easter less than a week away & my old jeans from college getting closer to looking good on me (10 years & 2 kids later – I will not sacrifice this momentum for marshmallow cream & candied yams!), I figured I’d do some research this weekend & test some recipes for healthier sweet potatoes.

I found this recipe by Ellie Krieger & pretty much duplicated it. Here’s what you will need for healthy candied sweet potatoes:

INGREDIENTS

3 large SWEET POTATOES – I used red garnet sweet potato

2 Tbsp HONEY

2 Tbsp OLIVE OIL

1 tsp FRESH LEMON JUICE

1/2 tsp SALT

1/4 cup CHOPPED NUTS (optional) – I used walnuts

STEP 1

Dice Sweet Potatoes – place in a sprayed 9×13 pan

Wisk together Olive Oil, Honey & Lemon Juice

STEP 2

Pour glaze over sweet potatoes, use clean hands to thoroughly mix/coat the potatoes.

STEP 3

Sprinkle Salt over glazed sweet potatoes

STEP 4

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour

FINISHED

MAKE THEM EVEN BETTER… ADD SOME TOASTED GLAZED NUTS

Remove sweet potatoes from pan & set aside on a serving dish. Stir 1/4 cup chopped nuts in the pan drippings. Toast in 350 degree oven for 5 minutes – stiring at the half-way point.