This Warm Sweet Blueberry Smothered Sweet Potato Overflows with Antioxidants

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This creamy sweet potato smothered with warm wild blueberries is loaded with nutrients. Because wild blueberries live and thrive in harsh climates, they are forced to produce high levels of antioxidants. In fact, twice the antioxidant power of ordinary blueberries. Flavonoids found in the blue pigments of wild blueberries have the ability to neutralize free radicals and help prevent nerve cell damage. Antioxidants also protect against inflammation. Top the intense flavor of wild blueberries over a twice-baked potato with its hefty concentration of beta carotene, vitamin C and fiber for a simple and delicious entree, or when you have a craving for something sweet.

Warm Wild Berry Smothered Sweet Potato

ALLERGENSNERVE NUTRIENT FOODSMEAL TYPESERVINGS
NutsBlueberries
Sweet Potatoes
Nuts & Seeds
Cinnamon
Main
Side
Snacks
1

Ingredients

1 large sweet potato, cleaned

½ cup wild blueberries

2 tablespoon raw or roasted pecan pieces

1 teaspoon all-natural maple syrup (plus more for drizzling)

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

¼ teaspoon allspice

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

Pinch of sea salt

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Poke holes in potato, wrap in foil.
  3. Bake 45-60 minutes. You will know it’s done if a knife slides easily into the center.
  4. When the potato is nearly done, toast pecans in dry saucepan (if desired), and warm berries.
  5. When the potato is done, slice open top and scoop out flesh into a small bowl.  Add spices, vanilla, sea salt and maple syrup to your liking and mix.
  6. Fill potato shell with mixture.
  7. Top potato with wild blueberries, sprinkle with pecans, and drizzle maple syrup, if desired.

Let’s Demystify the Sweet Potato vs Yam Confusion Once and for All

Truth is, what you’ve been calling a yam all along is most likely a sweet potato. That sweet orange root vegetable that winds up on holiday plates every fall is not what we all thought. Your mother-in-laws candied yams? Not yams. They’re sweet potatoes. I know, I felt deceived too.

This scaly, hairy thing is a yam and tastes closer in flavor to a yucca than those sweet potatoes you bake with marshmallows or roast for a kale salad. They originated in Asia and Africa, and there they have largely remained, except for specialty stores. You don’t have to worry whether sweet potatoes are a good substitute for yams — whether orange or colorless inside, they’re ALL sweet potatoes. Mystery solved.