Please accept this recipe as a small extension of my gratitude for your patience and understanding. Please?
Way back in May when I shared the news about the cookbook, I was confident that I'd be able to juggle work/blog/book without it becoming a recipe ghost town around here. I had high hopes of sticking to three posts per week but only a few weeks into the school year, I realized that sometimes my hopes are downright crazy.
An exceptionally busy fall at work + pouring my heart and soul into this cookbook with a fast-approaching deadline (12/31) + creating quality recipes/content for this labor of love = an amount of time far greater than I can consistently find within the weeks at the moment. Despite all that hoping of mine, there truly are only so many hours in the week.
More than ever, I've realized how necessary self-compassion and downtime are in the pursuit of creativity, intuition, and most desirable attributes. On the off chance that zombie-esque sleep deprivation and burnout magically begin to summon a bit of goodness in my heart and my mind, I'll be right here, handing over the very last minutes of the day to posting. However, as it currently stands, sleep deprivation and burnout squash my creativity into pieces, boost my sass level, and have even caused me to throw a baked donut across the kitchen and stomp on a molasses cookie with my bare foot. Unbeknownst to me, Dan had the unfortunate privilege of witnessing the molasses cookie stomp as he was turning the corner from hallway into kitchen. His response: "What'd that cookie ever do to you?" Touché. I'm proud to say that I've been cookie-stomp free since last May.
Given my current time-crunch reality, I saw two options regarding blogging over the coming weeks: 1) I could strive for a once-weekly post and offer a creative recipe along with a handful of thoughtful words until I have more time in January OR 2) I could stretch myself thin and offer a thrice-weekly dose of not-so-inspired recipes and words sent straight from a sassy, emotional, sleep-deprived limbic system sans frontal lobe filter.
I'll speak for myself and say that, without even the tiniest ounce of doubt, I prefer the former of those two options. So instead of getting all bent out of shape, I'm embracing the reality of what is rather than resisting it.
And my most immediate reality is this spiced sweet potato pie pudding. It's quite similar to this pumpkin pie pudding recipe I posted last month, except sweet potato puree steps in for pumpkin, and the spice ante is upped a few notches to jive with traditional sweet potato pie.
I love this pudding for the following 3 reasons:
1| It's simple to make. Toss just-ripe bananas, half an avocado, sweet potato puree, almond butter, pure maple syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, ground cloves, and a pinch of sea salt into a food processor and give it a whirl. You'll know it's ready when the texture is luxuriously creamy and smooth.
2| It welcomes a hefty dollop of coconut whipped cream without asking questions.
3| It's a double-duty dessert; rich and intensely satisfying + nourishing and packed with micronutrients.
I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving. If you're looking for ways to infuse your holiday weekend and/or everyday with more gratitude, check out this post. About a month ago, I re-started a gratitude journal, and it's amazing how just 5 to 10 minutes of morning gratitude can influence every other minute in the day.
Vegan Spiced Sweet Potato Pie Pudding
Ingredients
- 2 just-ripe bananas, peeled
- ½ a ripe avocado, pitted and peeled
- ¾ cup sweet potato puree
- ¼ cup natural almond butter
- 3 to 4 tablespoons pure maple syrup, to taste
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves (optional)
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
Optional Toppings
- Coconut whipped cream
- Crushed raw pecans
Instructions
- Add the bananas, avocado, pumpkin puree, almond butter, maple syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, ground cloves (if using), and sea salt to a food processor. Process for 2 minutes or until smooth and creamy, stopping to scrape down the sides as needed.
- Divide between four serving glasses and chill for at least 2 hours to thicken. You can also enjoy it as is; however, the texture gets much thicker and richer as it chills.
- Add desired toppings and serve.
Mad props to you lady for keeping all those things going at once! I thought I would be able to maintain posting 2 times a week before getting married, but as it turns out, I didn't post for 2 weeks and things were perfectly fine :) You can do it, the home stretch is so close!! Have a lovely holiday dear! xo
OMG, this looks and sounds so dreamy!!
Omg, this looks awesome! You're like the queen of healthy vegan desserts :P I'm a huge sweet potato pie fan, so this pudding looks perfect. I'll take a cup of it for breakfast!
The harsh realities of the ambitiously minded. Down time is where creativity emerges, like a good cup of tea steeped without haste, to a perfect material manifestation.