It may sound childish, but every once in a while I get this craving for one of those over-processed pudding cups that my mom used to put in my lunches when I was a kid. I never liked the tapioca version, but the smooth creaminess of chocolate or vanilla pudding still sometimes calls to me from the grocery store shelves. Recently, I had some leftover sweet potato puree from some baby food I was making, and I realized that its smooth texture was quite a bit like a pudding cup. So I started experimenting (and, of course, my recent obsession with pumpkin spice got pulled into play), and hit upon my new favorite healthy snack!
First, I have to confess that this isn't a true "pudding" in the sense of multiple steps involving milk, eggs, baking, chilling, etc. I really don't know how to make true pudding (unless you count instant pudding), but I know it's kind of complicated and often ends up in a disappointing result unless you have perfected it. This, on the other hand, is super simple (as in you can have it in your mouth in a matter of minutes!), super healthy (remember how we keep hearing how sweet potatoes are a "good carb"?!), and each bite delivers a sweet, smooth spoonful of pudding-cup delight!
1 SERVING
PREP: 5-7 minutes COOK: 25-30 minutes READY IN: 35-40 minutes
(If you already have sweet potato puree on hand, the total time is about 3 minutes!)
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INGREDIENTS
- 3/4 cup sweet potato puree (see directions below for cooking and mashing)
- 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- splash of vanilla
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar (or honey)
- 1 tablespoon milk (I use vanilla soy milk)
- 2 tablespoons pumpkin spice quinoa granola (recipe link here)
DIRECTIONS
- For sweet potato puree: Wash 3-4 medium/large sweet potatoes, and cut off ends. Cut into pieces (about 1-inch cubed works well). Steam for about 25-30 minutes. Remove from steamer into a large bowl or blender and add back in about 1/2-3/4 cup of water (you can use the water leftover in the bottom of the steamer). Using the blender or an immersion blender, puree the sweet potatoes into a smooth puree. This can be frozen in small amounts (such as in an ice cube tray), or refrigerated for several days.
- Place approximately 1 cup of sweet potato puree (can be cold or warm, however you prefer) in a serving bowl. Mix in pumpkin spice, cinnamon, brown sugar, vanilla, and milk. Sprinkle with granola and enjoy!
NUTRITION FACTS
3/4 cup serving (without granola) 193 calories .5 g fat 48.8 g carbs 4.3 g protein 14.1 g sugar
Enjoy!
