Sweet Potato Casserole with Cinnamon Psyllium Topping
‘Tis the holiday season, friends! What will grace your tables, leading up to, and on, special days? This dish is bursting with Thanksgiving vibes foremost, but it’s certainly a welcome to any spread, throughout autumn and winter.
All wholesome nourishment is worthy of plenty of thanks, year-round, but when it comes to holiday dinners, it’s usually the sides I look forward to the most, and this one is tops, just inching ahead of stuffing. Forget sugary marshmallow topping--spiced, crunchy pecans, oats mixed with @organicindiausa Cinnamon Spice Psyllium Pre & Probiotic Fiber is the perfect nutty contrast to rich, silky baked, whipped sweet potato in lightened-up variation.
Thiis year, this bit of betacarotene-rich brightness delivered traditional flavor to what was otherwise an atypical Thanksgiving. My parents came to visit from Sunday through Thursday, preferring to fly home on Thanksgiving Day versus amid the swell of post-holiday travellers the following days. Our shared family Thanksgiving dinner was therefore held the Wednesday before, and it honored a different kind of tradition we have with my parents—eating delicious Chinese food from a local family restauarnt owned by former neighbors.
Sumptous as both are, Asian takeout wouldn’t have paired well with this casserole, and so, breakfast it became. Later, I couldn’t help but reflect on how appropriate that was. Because, although it’s just kicking off, this holiday season feels striking in that the sparkle is a little different. Chef F’s joy and wonder is evolving. I could call it muted, but that wouldn’t be quite accurate. It’s just taken on a new maturity. I am constantly adding to the list of things we won’t enjoy in quite the same way again. I’ll never push him on the swings anymore, for instance. Chances are, he won’t pen another letter to Santa.
Does change hurt, in this case? Yes. Like in most. But, here’s the beauty: every moment of every day, whether or not he’s in my presence, Chef F reminds me by his very being to keep on enjoying the now. Embrace what we’ve got, right now. It changes, but it offers so much, too, always. One day, these too will be the memories to look back on with love and longing. Let’s make sure we have reason to look back at them in appreciation. Acknowledge the struggling, but savor the delicious, every chance we get. Happy holiday season, all! xo
Sweet Potato Casserole with Cinnamon Psyllium Topping
For the casserole:
Approximately 3 pounds sweet potatoes (about 3-4 large)
½ Cup aquafaba (liquid drained from canned chickpeas), optional
¼ cup pure maple syrup
¼ cup unsweetened plant milk of choice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground ORGANIC INDIA Ceylon Cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
⅛ teaspoon ground ginger
dash salt
For the topping:
½ to ¾ Cup pecans, chopped
¼ to ⅓ Cup coconut or brown sugar
1-2 Tablespoons ORGANIC INDIA Cinnamon Spice Psyllium Pre & Probiotic Fiber
½ Cup oats
¼ Cup flour of choice (almond, oat, whole wheat all work well)
2-3 Tablespoons olive or liquid coconut oil
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Scrub the sweet potatoes and puncture with a fork. Place the potatoes on a baking sheet lined with foil and bake for approximately one hour, or until soft. Allow potatoes to cool slightly.
Scoop the cooked potatoes from the skin and place in a mixing bowl with the maple syrup, plant milk, vanilla, spices, and salt. Beat until smooth with an electric mixer, then transfer to a bowl.
Add the aquafaba to the mixer bowl and beat on high speed until foamy and beginning to form stiff peaks, about three to five minutes. Fold into the sweet potato mixture.
Prepare a 9-inch square baking dish or similar with cooking spray. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Prepare the topping: Place the pecans, sugar, ORGANIC INDIA Cinnamon Spice Psyllium Pre & Probiotic Fiber, oats, and flour in the bowl of a food processor and pull to gently combine. Pulse a few more times will adding in the oil, until the mixture is moistened. Sprinkle evenly over the potato mixture.
Bake for 40 to 45 minutes. Serve warm.