Sweet Potato Latkes

sweet-potato-latkes

This year is my second year celebrating Hanukkah with Rich. Last year we didn't live together so I didn't get to share some of the traditions that my family has brought me up with. One of those traditions is that for at least one night of Hanukkah my mom will cook a big dinner, and special on the menu is Latkes.

Latkes are potato pancakes fried in oil to recognize the ancient oil (only enough for one day) that burned for 8 days. Thus the reason there are 8 days of Hanukkah.

Now that we're living together, now is the perfect time to start making our own traditions. So tonight I'm making a big dinner consisting of Beef Brisket (in the slow cooker that I got last night for Hanukkah), Sweet Potato Latkes, and steamed green beans. For dessert I'm making a low(er) calorie Apple Pie straight from the December 2012 issue of Oxygen Magazine. I'll let you know how that one goes too.

I'm making my latkes with sweet potatoes to up the nutrition factor and will fry them in Coconut Oil instead of Shortening.

Sweet Potato Latkes are great for any dinner and would be delicious for breakfast with a fried egg on top and some turkey bacon on the side.

Sweet Potato Latkes, Beef Brisket and Steamed Green Beans

Update: dinner was delish! And the Sweet Potato Latkes were a big hit. They were soft on the inside and crunchy on the outside with a mildly sweet center and a hint of coconut. I served them with apple sauce but they were perfect by themselves. Enjoy!

Sweet Potato Latkes

Sweet Potato Latkes

Prep time: 90 minutes - Cook time: 10-20 minutes - makes 12 Latkes

Ingredients: - 2 medium sweet potatoes, grated - 1 medium onion, diced - 2 eggs, beaten - 1 tablespoon whole wheat flour - 1 teaspoon sea salt - pinch of pepper - spoonful of coconut oil

Directions:

Peel potatoes and onion; soak for 1 hour in a bowl of water in the refrigerator.

Remove potatoes and onion from water. Grate potatoes and drain excess juice. Dice the onion and add to sweet potatoes. Add eggs, flour, salt and pepper to the mixture; mix well.

In a large skillet, melt a spoonful of coconut oil on medium heat. Form pancakes using a spoonful of batter, fry on both sides for 3-5 minutes until golden brown and crispy. Serve with applesauce or cinnamon butter.

What's your favorite way to remake family tradition favorites?

Hearty Bran Protein Pancakes

Your mom probably told you as a kid that breakfast is the most important  meal of the day and you better believe she was right. Waking up to a hearty healthy breakfast will get your metabolism revving and give you energy for the day. It's a proven fact kids are smarter if they eat breakfast, therefore adults should be too (or at least you'd think so). For me, breakfast is the one meal I go to sleep looking forward to. Often times I think to myself, I can't wait to wake up so I can eat breakfast! It's kinda funny though, as a kid I was not really in to breakfast foods. Sometimes I ate cereal, but that's about it. Nowadays, my most common cravings are big fluffy pancakes with butter and syrup, gigantic muffins loaded with nuts and dried fruit, waffles with all the toppings, and good old bagels with Nova and cream cheese.

People are creatures of habit - I know I sure am! Usually I eat the same thing every morning for breakfast, even on the weekends. Sometimes I'll go through phases where for 3-4 months I'll eat one thing, then one day I will switch it up for a few months and eat something completely different. Right now (and for a while) my go-to breakfast is Hearty Bran Protein Pancakes. This recipe is by no means mine completely. It was revised from my friend Wendy's recipe. When I took a trip to Wyoming in February to snowboard and visit, Wendy made me these amazing pancakes. We topped them with peanut butter and I was hooked!

I've put anything I could think of on top of these suckers - from slivered almonds and sugar-free maple syrup, to cashew butter, to almond butter, to spray butter. What I top them with regularly is crunchy Peanut Butter and Sugar-free Strawberry Preserves. Be forewarned, these pancakes are hearty, you'll need a nice glass of Almond milk or mug of coffee to wash them down. Enjoy!

What's your favorite thing to eat for breakfast?  

Hearty Bran Protein Pancakes

Prep time: 7 minutes - cook time: 3-4 min. - makes 1 serving

Ingredients:

• 3 large egg whites
• 1/3 cup oat bran
• 1 bloop half n'half or unsweetened almond
• milk dash of sea salt dash of cinnamon
• 1/2 scoop Vanilla Whey Protein Powder

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, whisk egg whites lightly.  Add milk, salt and cinnamon; whisk until evenly combined.  Remove whisk, wash and put away.  Next, add oat bran and whey protein.  Mix with spatula until smooth.  If batter is too thick, add a splash of milk or water.
2. Pour batter in to a small greased skillet over medium-high heat.  Let cook for 1-2 minutes.  Flip over and cook the other side for another 1-2 minutes until golden brown.  Remove and top with whatever toppings are your favorite.

Nutrition facts for Pancakes without toppings (via nutritiondata.com) Calories: 190, Calories from fat: 24; Total fat: 3g; Trans Fat: 0g; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Sodium: 314 mg; Total Carbohydrate: 24g; Dietary Fiber: 6g; Sugar: 1g; Protein: 30g; Iron: 2.0mg