With the health benefits of a sweet potato about a mile long, I still wonder why I don’t eat them year-round and not just during the holidays. Well, that is exactly how the Sweet Potato Bread recipe found it’s way to Sock Box 10; sweet potatoes from the holidays. Yes, they were getting hard, but as you can see below, they were perfect once cooked. Waste not – want not.
The Underappreciated Tuber (potato)
The orange-fleshed sweet potato is one of nature’s top sources of beta-carotene. Beta-carotene is the yellow/orange pigment that gives fruits and vegetables their rich colors and it’s our divinely made bodies that convert beta-carotene into vitamin A (retinol). We all need vitamin A for healthy skin, mucous membranes, our immune system, vision and overall good health. The health benefits don’t end with vitamin A. Sweet potatoes are an excellent source of vitamin C, magnesium, copper, B6, potassium, B1, B2, and a great source of fiber. If you’d like to read additional health benefits of the tuber which include: antioxidants, anti-inflammatory nutrients, and blood sugar-regulating nutrients you can read more at whfoods.org.
About the Sweet Potato Bread
Earthy. Root vegetable – meets seed – meets bark. That’s right. The sweet potato is a root, nutmeg comes from seeds of a tree and cinnamon from the inner bark of trees. Oh, and don’t forget about the nuts. Earthy. That’s exactly how I would describe the flavor with the nutmeg and cinnamon joining perfectly with the sweet potato. This bread is moist and dense which makes it great for spreading butter, cream cheese, or maybe just a slice of bologna. No topping is necessary but for some reason, my German heritage loves to add a slice of bologna to just about everything. That’s exactly how we ate it Sunday afternoon.
It’s easy to make and I always double the batch. A double batch makes 3 small loaves 3″ X 6″ and one 9″ X 5″. The small loaves are cute and great for gift giving. This recipe freezes well
I’d like to add one more tidbit about eating sweet potatoes. I like to eat some of the skin of a baked potato and sweet potato. In the article, it mentioned that it’s not good to eat the skin unless they are organically grown. This was news to me and just an FYI. Oh, and a disclaimer – Yes, this recipe has sugar in it and a little oil and who knows if this cancels out all the wonderful benefits of the sweet potato, but it sure is delicious and wholesome. Enjoy!
So, do you want to add more sweet potatoes to your diet and not just during the holidays? I think I’m on board with this. Are you already eating them on a regular basis? We want to hear about it and please share your favorite way of eating them?
Please consider pinning the picture below and as always….
Thanks for stopping by, Rose
- 1½ cups white sugar
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 2 eggs
- 1¾ cups sifted all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ⅓ cup water
- 1 cup cooked and mashed sweet potatoes
- ½ cup chopped pecans
- Combine sugar and oil; beat well.
- Add eggs one at a time and beat well.
- Combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. You can sift or I just whisk around in the bowl until the ingredients are combined.
- Add the flour mixture alternately with the water into the egg mixture while mixing on low.
- Stir in sweet potatoes and chopped nuts or continue mixing on low. I prefer mixing on low.
- Pour the batter into a greased 9X5 inch loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees F for about one hour.
- When I doubled the recipe it made one 9X5 inch loaf and three 6X3 inch loaf pans.
- This recipe freezes well.
- Recipe adapted from Mary E Crain and All Recipes
- Enjoy!