Have as many of these bacon biscuits as you’d like without feeling like you’ve gone off track. This biscuit recipe perfectly bridges comfort with health, and your taste buds don’t have to compromise.

Get your diet back on track with bacon biscuits. Suspicious? Don’t be. These sweet potato bacon biscuits are as comforting as their namesake would suggest, only they are free of white flour, refined sugar, and white potato, making them a healthier alternative to traditional biscuits.

Bulked up and lightly sweetened with sweet potato and coconut flour, the bacon, garlic, and spices add a savory touch to these biscuits. Pair with a slab of coconut oil, ghee, or regular butter.

Sweet Potato Bacon Biscuit Recipe

Makes 8-10 servings

Ingredients

• 1 medium sweet potato
• 4 garlic cloves, roasted
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, minced
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons coconut flour
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 1 slice bacon

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Wrap the garlic cloves in aluminum foil and put into the oven. Poke the skin of the sweet potato liberally with a fork and wrap it in aluminum foil. Place the sweet potato into the oven as well. Bake for 50 minutes, until both the sweet potato and garlic are tender.

Remove both from the oven. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Let the sweet potato cool.

Once cool, peel the sweet potato and add it to a bowl with the garlic. Use the flat end of a fork to mash to two together.

In a skillet over medium-high heat, fry the bacon. Once cooked, remove the bacon and pour the bacon fat into the bowl with the sweet potato. Add in the egg, rosemary, salt, pepper, coconut flour, and baking powder. Stir until well combined. Chop the bacon and fold it into the mixture.

Spoon the batter onto a greased baking sheet into biscuit-like sizes. Pop the baking sheet into the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown.

Let the biscuits cool for a few minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Related on EcoSalon
Vegan Whole-Wheat Biscuits Recipe with Jam
Recipes for Gingerbread Pepparkakor Cookies
Vegan White Chocolate and Macadamia Nut Cookies

The post Sweet Potato Bacon Biscuits Recipe (Because Everything is Better with Bacon) appeared first on EcoSalon.

There are many reasons why this truffle recipe beats out just about any other variation you’ve had. Reason number one: sweet potato.

And why not? Sweet potato adds just the right amount of sweetness that makes it a natural in the realm of truffles. This sweet potato truffle recipe uses only the finest of ingredients that do your body and mother earth’s creatures a favor. Take a bite! Or two, or three…

Instead of using sugar and dairy to bring flavor to this recipe, I use the richness of coconut oil and the sweetness of maple syrup and sweet potato to make these truffles a surefire treat, without the sugar-induced hangover. These sweet potato truffles are vegan and rank low on the glycemic index.

Sweet Potato Truffles

Makes about 15 truffles

Ingredients

For the filling:

• 1 large sweet potato
• 3 tablespoons arrowroot powder
• 1/4 cup coconut oil,  melted
• 2 tablespoons flour (any kind works)
• Hefty dash of sea salt
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1/3 cup almond milk (rice milk and soy milk work well too)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon almond extract

For the chocolate coating:

• 1 cup coconut oil
• 2 tablespoons cacao powder

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit and bake the sweet potato for 45 minutes to one hour, or until it’s soft through the center. (Poke with a fork to find out.) Let the sweet potato cool to room temperature. Remove the skin and place in a food processor with the arrowroot powder and coconut oil. Set aside. In a pot over medium-high heat, add the flour, sea salt, maple syrup, and almond milk. Whisk until smooth and cook until the mixture considerably thickens. Remove from heat and whisk in the extracts. Add the mixture to the food processor with the sweet potato mixture. Blend until smooth and transfer to a bowl. Place the bowl into the refrigerator and let cool. When cool and relatively harder, use a spoon to scoop out truffle-sized bites. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place the baking sheet into the freezer for 30 minutes.

While the truffle fillings are freezing, melt the chocolate coating mixture on a double broiler and whisk until smooth. Take each frozen truffle and using a fork or spoon, completely submerge it in the chocolate, returning each back to its place on the parchment-paper coated baking sheet. Once you have repeated this step for all the truffles, transfer to the freezer to harden. Serve cold.

Image: Oksay

Related on EcoSalon:

White Bean and Sweet Potato Veggie Burger Recipe

Vegan Sweet Potato Hash Browns Recipe

The post A Twist on the Regular: Sweet Potato Truffle Recipe appeared first on EcoSalon.

Turn traditional greasy hash browns into a healthy and delicious meal with this vegan sweet potato recipe.

Hash browns are traditionally pan-fried white potatoes that have been grated, diced, sliced, or julienned. For this recipe, however, I wanted to cut some corners by baking sweet potato cubes as well as improve the nutrition and color with the addition of red pepper, mint, and scallions. The result is a sweet and savory vegan delight that is fit for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Enjoy!

Traditional hash browns are not exactly the best way to start the day. The ingredient list is generally short, but consider the main players: white potato and butter. Despite the fact that it is a vegetable, the white potato is a simple starch that causes spikes in blood sugar levels and can lead to  a temporary energy rush followed by a period of sluggishness, not to mention the weight gain. Often, and especially when hash browns are served at a diner, butter is more than just a condiment, it’s almost side-dish-status worthy, considering how much is added to the pan for frying the potatoes. This vegan recipe for sweet potato hash browns makes them part of a wholesome and healthy meal.

The sweet potato is packed with vitamins C and D, carotenoids and antioxidants. These attributes make it effective at maintaining youthful skin, strong bones, and a healthy thyroid as well as preventing cancer. Compared to a white potato, sweet potatoes (and yams) also contain sugars that are slowly released into the bloodstream and thus don’t cause surges in blood sugar levels.

Sweet and Savory Baked Sweet Potato Hash browns

Serves 3-4

Ingredients

• 2 sweet potatoes
• 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 3 scallions
• 1 large (2 medium) red pepper(s)
• Large handful fresh mint leaves
• Juice of one orange
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Dice the sweet potatoes into cubes. Place cubes on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake for about 30 minutes or until slightly browned and cooked through. While the cubes bake, dice the scallions, red pepper and mint leaves. In a small bowl, whisk together the the orange juice, lemon juice and olive oil. Set aside.

When the potatoes have cooked, place them in a bowl while warm and add the red pepper, scallions and mint.

Pour in the vinaigrette.

Toss until evenly combined. Season with salt and pepper if you’d like more. Serve and enjoy!

Photo Credit: GlowKitchen

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This winter, try your hand at a different kind of homemade pizza. Add some seasonal vegetables to the mix and you’ll bring more excitement and diverse flavors to pizza night. This sweet potato and leek pizza recipe is just one way you can mix it up. Enjoy!

The stars of this pizza recipe are the leeks and sweet potatoes. As spring approaches, I’m trying to get the most out of my sweet potato kick and one of the ways I like to do that is to pair it with unlikely vegetables, such as leeks, and in unique ways, such as in a pizza. This recipe makes me appreciate the sweet potato — and pizza! — in an entirely different way.

Leeks reduce LDL (bad) cholesterol and are helpful in fighting certain cancers, such as colon and prostate cancer, with their carcinogen-fighting quercetin content. They also contain protective antioxidants, inlcuding the carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin, which help to prevent aging, lower high blood pressure, cleanse the blood, and heal wounds.

The sweet potato also offers incredible health benefits. It is packed with vitamins B6, C and D, contributing to healthy bones and nerves, clear skin and strong teeth. The sweet potato is also helpful in reducing stress and boosting the immune system. It is the better alternative to a white potato because it has sugars that are slowly released into the bloodstream and thus won’t cause sugar spikes. Like leeks, the sweet potato also wards off cancer.

Sweet Potato & Leek Winter Pizza

Makes one 10-inch pie

Ingredients

• 1 10-inch pizza crust (preferably whole-wheat)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil (for brushing the crust)
• 2 leeks
• 1 medium white onion
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, stemmed and halved
• 1 sweet potato (baked at 400 degrees F for 40 minutes)
• 1 teaspoon chives, chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste

Brush both sides of the crust with olive oil and place on a baking dish.

Spread the sweet potato over the crust so that it is evenly distributed.

Top the sweet potato with the leeks, onions, cherry tomatoes and chives.

Bake in the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about 10-12 minutes, or until the crust browns slightly and the tomatoes cook to a withered look. Serve and enjoy!

Photo Credit: GlowKitchen

The post Winter Ingredient Twist: Sweet Potato and Leek Pizza Recipe appeared first on EcoSalon.

I can’t seem to get enough of sweet potatoes, so it was only natural to try incorporating them into my next veggie burger. The sweet potato is a nutritional powerhouse. It contains high levels of vitamins B6, C, and D, potassium magnesium, and antioxidants including carotenoids, making it effective in supporting the immune system, regulating the heart beat and nerve signals, producing white blood cells, reducing stress, and maintaining skin’s youthful elasticity.

This recipe scores high with taste and consistency and is easy on the waistline. It’s 100 percent vegan but still has the density and punch of a regular burger. You can serve it in a whole wheat bun or just eat it atop lettuce leaves with your choice of condiments.

Sweet Potato Burger

3-4 patties

Ingredients

• 1 sweet potato, baked and peeled
• 1 can of white beans, drained and rinsed (or fresh cooked beans if you’re off the cans)
• 2 tablespoons diced red onion
• 1 handful of parsley, chopped
• 1 teaspoon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 3-4 tablespoons safflower, canola or light olive oil for frying

Directions

Toss all ingredients in a large bowl and mash with the back of a fork until the white beans have broken down and everything is evenly combined.

Shape 3-4 patties. In a saucepan over medium-high heat, add about three tablespoons of oil. Place each patty into the pan. They should make a sizzling sound. Let cook 2-3 minutes on both sides until browned.

Serve in a bun or over lettuce leaves.

Enjoy!

Photo Credit: GlowKitchen

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Easy to make recipes for a 4th of July bbq revamp.

Nothing captures the 4th of July quite like images of outdoor eating with family and friends. It marks the beginning of barbecue season and kicks off the summer with cheer. All is fun and games until you stop by the food table, which boasts fare that is everything but forgiving to your waistline. But there’s no need to miss out on that which makes the 4th of July so special! We’ve revamped typical July 4th barbecue dishes so that you can have a happier and healthier holiday feast without missing out on the tastes you expect from an outdoor summer celebration.

Potato Salad

Mayonnaise makes this otherwise vegetable-centric dish a nightmare for health enthusiasts. One tablespoon of mayonnaise contains some 90 calories, 10 grams of fat, and 5 milligrams of cholesterol. These stats alone are reason why the potato salad actively contributes to heart disease and weight gain.

Switch up the traditional recipe with a Roasted Sweet Potato Salad with Herbed Vinaigrette, which includes hearty  dried cranberries, nuts, parsley, sage and arugula. And whistle while you work to a playlist fit for a potato salad maker!

Burgers

We’ve explored the nutritional downfall of the Big Mac, but homemade versions are not always much better. If you are still using white buns and cooking animal protein, there still exists the hurdle of empty calories and saturated fat.

To give the burger a healthy twist, use a whole-wheat or whole-grain bun and cut the saturated fat by using lean cuts of meat and reducing other superfluous additions, such as bread crumbs and egg yolks. For a much healthier alternative, nix the animal protein and opt for a Chickpea Burger. Not only is this variation healthier but also packs a ton of flavor.

Hot Dogs

Hot dogs are severely low on the scale of nutritional value. Hot dogs are processed meat crammed with some 18 grams of fat per serving. They clog arteries and increase the risk for heart disease. Hot dogs are also loaded with sodium – up to 1,000 milligram – leading to weight gain, water retention, bloating and increased blood pressure.

When searching for a hot dog to lay out on the grill, keep your eyes on nutrition labels. Look for a brand with no more then 3 grams or less of saturated fat and 370 milligrams or less of sodium per serving. Remember that the less ingredients there are, the better for your health the hot dog is bound to be. Avoid white flour buns and opt for either a whole-wheat or whole-grain bun or eat the hot dog wedged between lettuce leaves. Avoid sugar and sodium-packed condiments and opt for a topping of fresh vegetables. Check out the My Vegan Cookbook website for an excellent Seitan Hot Dog recipe.

Chips

Original variations often included the preservative, Butylhydroxytoluene, commonly known as BHT. This fat-soluble chemical is also used in petroleum products, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics. BHT can lead to cancer when consumed in high amounts. Other health violations include high levels of sodium, artery-clogging trans-fats and calories. However, there are now so many brands offering healthy alternatives – vegetable-based or baked –without sacrificing the taste and crunch.

Homemade chips may be an intimidating endeavor, but they’re much more hassle-free than you think. Try these simple Sweet Potato Chips and then individualize them with your favorite spices and oils, like as was done for these Mustard and Dill Potato Chips.

Pickles

Pickles are essentially cucumbers that have soaked in vinegar and salt and fermented over time. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, the average 4-inch long dill pickle has about 1,181 milligrams of sodium, which is nearly your maximum daily intake requirement. As a basis of comparison, a 4-inch cucumber prior to pickling contains only 6 milligrams of sodium.

To avoid the sodium overload, soak a sliced cucumber in a bowl with red apple cider vinegar for a few hours before serving. The cucumbers will soak in the sourness of the vinegar without the addition of salt. If you are keen on the pickled effect, homemade pickling is a great way to control what goes into the process. Fermented vegetables are exceptionally good for you. The healthy bacteria created during pickling benefits your gut flora when consumed, improving digestion. Try the Healthy Green Kitchen blog’s Spicy Lemon Cucumber Pickles, which keeps the sodium in check and the flavor on high!

Corn on the Cob

Corn on the cob is a health violation that really shouldn’t be. All is well until the butter is slathered and the salt is shaken one too many times. To make this July 4th staple healthier, try brushing the corn with olive oil instead of butter to ensure less saturated fat. Also, dash salt into your palm first, as opposed to shaking it directly over the corn, in order to avoid over seasoning.

To bring some extra nutritional value to the dish, chop some chives, parsley, garlic, dill, or any of your favorite herbs and mix them with olive oil before applying to the corn.

Baked Beans

Beans are full of heart-healthy fiber and plant-based protein, but canned baked beans are often so full of sugar, their nutritional benefits are canceled out. The sugary syrup that canned beans generally come with will only cause an increase in blood sugar and insulin levels, contributing to heart disease and diabetes.

Check out the Homemade Classic Baked Beans from the Recipe Renovator blog to slim down the traditional recipe without compromising taste or texture.

Condiments

Ketchup, mustard, relish, and mayonnaise are barbecue mainstays, and for good reason. We often don’t realize how heavily we rely on them to kick up the flavor, and we often ignore their significance in our daily diets. However, it’s in these condiments where we find those empty calories. Ketchup, mustard, and relish are no stranger to sugar, sodium, and preservatives while mayonnaise has a lot of artery-clogging saturated fat.

Why settle for store-bought sugar and sodium-packed condiments when you can make your own in a matter of minutes? Even if you aren’t slicing the fat and calories, it’s always important to keep the ingredients real and untainted by preservatives, coloring and other sketchy add-ins.

Seltzer with Bitters

Regular soft drinks have been linked to stroke risk, elevated blood pressure, obesity, cancer and kidney failure. They’re full of sugar, and even their zero-calorie alternatives hold some dreaded preservatives and chemicals.

Get the bubbly without the downsides. Prepare a Honey, Ginger Sparkling Lemonade with Rosemary and expect to quench your thirst in a much more refreshing and aromatic way.

Dessert

A lot can go wrong come dessert time. First there’s the obvious bad guys – nutritionally-empty white sugar and white flour – and then there’s the addition of butter that has you worried.

Try your hand at some healthier alternatives, such as Vegan Chocolate Mousse with Sea Salt, Avocado Chocolate Pudding, Fig and Coconut Walnut Cake, Peanut Butter Cookies, and Vegan Strawberry Shortcake. These recipes are forgiving to the waistline and overall easy crowd pleasers.

Photo by The Recipe Renovator. © 2012. Used with permission.

The post Extreme Makeover: Revamping the Traditional 4th of July BBQ appeared first on EcoSalon.

A childhood favorite revamped.

There’s something incredibly nostalgic about macaroni and cheese. Even if you rarely ate the meal as a kid, you most certainly recognized the commercials for the box brands and knew what it was. For me, mac & cheese was an after-school staple, a weekend lunch, a quick dinner that never fell short of filling the carb and cheese quota I necessitated as a youngster.

But it’s no nutritional powerhouse. Sure, advertisements can skirt the overall lack of nutrition with a “high in calcium!” banner, but last time I checked, just because something includes dairy ( e.g. ice cream, crème brûlée, pizza) doesn’t mean it’s a nourishing and balanced meal. Across the board – in both store-bought and homemade versions of it– macaroni and cheese has a lot of room for improvement in terms of nutritional benefit.

Using Kraft Macaroni & Cheese as an example, box brands include the likes of whey, milkfat, milk protein concentrate, salt, sodium tripolyphosphate, citric acid, sodium phosphate, lactic acid, milk, calcium phosphate, yellow 5, yellow 6, cheese culture, and enzymes. Artificial coloring and preservatives prevent the assimilation of nutrients and with often over 500 milligrams of sodium, box brands are blood pressure’s natural nemesis.

And while homemade macaroni and cheese both is better for you and can cut the sodium, enzymes and preservatives from the mix, the classic recipe made from scratch will include the following: white pasta, butter, plain white flour, milk, and grated cheese. White flour is essentially the result of having stripped everything useful from wheat, adding synthetic vitamins, and bleaching it. The vitamins in white flour are toxic, and because the flour is devoid of fiber, it passes slowly through the intestine, giving more time for the body to absorb the toxicities. The bleaching process also increases the flour’s gluten content. Additionally, the butter and cheese are by no means used scantily in homemade macaroni and cheese, so you can be sure the result is high in artery-clogging saturated fat, sodium, and the hard-to-digest animal milk protein, casein. To say the least, homemade macaroni and cheese is also no poster child for health.

Today, it’s hard to justify eating macaroni and cheese when little is to be gained (except for taste, of course). I’m all about eating what gives you pleasure, and if you are craving little white flour noodles flavored with powdered cheese every now and then, don’t hesitate to dig in! But there are times when the conscience outweighs the desire and when part of me wishes there were a healthier alternative. So, I created one.

This recipe is a vegan version of macaroni and cheese. The cheese has a sweet potato base. Skeptical? I was too until I tried it. The sweet potato is baked and mixed with mustard and nutritional yeast to give it the “cheesy” taste. Nutritional yeast is one of those ingredients that has changed my life. It’s the only plant-based source of vitamin B12, which is music to vegans’ ears. It is super versatile and one of the few ways to match the taste of cheese without using dairy. Combining the “cheese” with whole-grain or whole-wheat pasta, the result is a rich, satisfying macaroni and cheese experience, without the food baby to show for it.

Whole-Wheat Macaroni & Sweet Potato Cheese

Serves 1

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of cooked noodles (according to package instructions)
• 1/2 baked sweet potato
• 1/4 tsp mustard
• Juice of half a lemon
• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• Dash of salt
• Dash of freshly ground pepper
• 1 tbsp of nutritional yeast and 1/2 tbsp of olive oil for crust

In a medium-sized bowl combine the sweet potato half, juice of half a lemon, mustard, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, olive oil and salt and pepper. Mix until thoroughly combined.

Fold 1 cup of cooked noodles into the sweet potato “cheese”.

Place the mixture into a serving-size baking dish.

Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of nutritional yeast over the dish and drizzle with 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil. This will allow the top to crisp while cooking.

Bake in the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes, or until the top begins to brown. Serve and enjoy!

The result is super soft and creamy. Its flavors satisfy the sweet, salty, sour and bitter taste buds, making it a decidedly complete dish without you craving anything else, except for maybe more of what you just ate!

Bon Appetit!

Aylin Erman currently resides in Istanbul and is creator of plant-based recipe website GlowKitchen.

Image: Pink Sherbert Photography

The post Nutritional Breakdown: Macaroni and Cheese Gets A Sweet Potato Revamp appeared first on EcoSalon.

I know it’s springtime and I should be talking about snap peas and asparagus. The fact is, I still can’t get enough of the sweet potato. But what I’ve really been digging on, so to speak, is the yam. Yes, I discovered this not too long ago when discussing the wonderful qualities of the sweet potato with a friend who asked the question, sweet potato or yam? Lo and behold, I wasn’t sure so the next time I found myself at the market, I had to know. And there it was, my true love is actually the yam.

The thing is, I couldn’t let go of the yam as the sweet potato. I discovered that the sweet potato is considered the number one most nutritional vegetable and congratulated myself on my healthy diet. But there it was again: I have been eating yams not sweet potatoes! What then is the difference between sweet potatoes and yams?

I did some research and learned a few surprising facts. The sweet potato is apparently far and away the most nutritious of all vegetables and is very low in calories. It is particularly packed with vitamin A, as well as vitamin C, iron, calcium, fiber and beta carotene. Wow.

The yam on the other hand (and by the way, the sweet potato and yam are not in the same botanical family) is also very nutritious in its own way. Yams contain more omega-3 fatty acids (good for the heart) and loads of essential minerals such as potassium and magnesium.

But get this. After unearthing a bit more information, I learned that most vegetables labeled “yams” in the United States are actually a variety of sweet potato! True yams are tropical root vegetables with African origins and are generally not sold in North America. It turns out, I have most likely been enjoying sweet potatoes all along!

Images: FotoosVanRobin

The post I Yam What I Yam: The Sweet Potato Ranks #1 in Nutrition appeared first on EcoSalon.