Creamy Sweet Potato Soup

This recipe is a product of lunchtime innovation — we had plenty of leftover sweet potatoes and not much time for preparing anything else. I was (and still am) on a ginger kick — my favorite winter spice! This was the perfect soup to warm our tummies!

This creamy soup is dairy free with just the perfect zing of ginger and cinnamon to warm the most blustery winter day!

My trusty immersion blender made short work of this soup and it was so easy to throw together at the last minute! My four Little Farmers fought over the leftovers the next day. In fact, two of them have already added to their birthday menus (in our family, the birthday holder chooses the menu for the entire day. Much thought is put into the menu for weeks ahead of time 🙂

I didn’t have these on hand when I made this soup, but I imagine some ginger chips from The Ginger People (ginger + cane sugar) would make a delightful garnish!

By the way, have you ever tried cooking your sweet potatoes in a crockpot? It’s an easy way to cook a huge amount of sweet potatoes.

1. Wash sweet potatoes
2. Add to slow cooker — do not pierce with a fork, wrap in foil or add any liquid to the crock.
3. Cover and cook on low or high until tender. Every slow cooker has it’s own personality so timing will vary. I usually allow for 4-6 hours on low, 3-4 hours on high depending upon the size of the sweet potato, how many potatoes I add to the crock, and which slow cooker I am using.

Want to make this process even faster? I can cook 3-5 pounds of sweet potatoes in my favorite kitchen investment of 2017, my 8-Quart Instant Pot, in just 10-15 minutes (not including time to allow pressure release.)  I usually make enough for at least 2 meals!

To cook sweet potatoes in an InstaPot:

• Small sweet potatoes – cook 10-12 minutes on “Manual” setting
• Large sweet potatoes – cook 12-15 minutes on “Manual” setting

Need a protein boost?

Try stirring in some of your favorite (LEAP friendly) protein powder for an instant lunch. I suggest the Vital Proteins grass-fed beef collagen peptides. Two scoops contain 18 grams of protein and it will stir in easily. You might want to pull out your immersion blender again to blend in some of the other protein powders that don’t dissolve as easily.

The best type of coconut milk

Mainstream coconut milk usually contains a laundry list of fillers and gums to prevent separation of the liquid and to make it more creamy. I prefer two ingredients in my coconut milk – coconut + water! Golden Star has a coconut milk that fits that bill perfectly and is perfectly creamy without gums or thickeners and so does Trader Joe’s.

Reactive to coconut?

Some of my clients are reactive to coconut on their MRT test results. This can be difficult if you have switched to using coconut once you have eliminated dairy. Why not try using some homemade almond milk or homemade cashew milk in this recipe, or even organic whole milk if you can use dairy.

Can’t have sweet potatoes?

My Farmer is reactive to sweet potatoes but I just might try this soup using our homemade pumpkin or butternut squash puree. Since winter squashes might not taste as sweet as the sweet potatoes, I might add in some apple with the squashes to cook, or swirl just a touch of maple syrup or Sucanat in to the soup once I taste it.

Have it your way!

Feel free to customize according to your LEAP diet. You can leave out the cinnamon and ginger if you aren’t including those in your LEAP diet yet, or you can experiment with some other flavors depending upon what you can include in your diet (cardamom, nutmeg, or even a little orange zest might add some warming flavor to this soup.)

If you are in the initial stages of your LEAP diet and don’t have any spices that will work for you, then this will still make a nice creamy soup with just sweet potatoes and any LEAP friendly milk that you are using!

Serve in Style! 

Serve your soup in a fun mug or bowl! A tea cup or a wide mouth 1 cup mason jar would be a fun serving container (and you could freeze leftover soup in the mason jars!)

Even if you are eating simple foods, serve your foods in style. You eat with your eyes as much as you do with your mouth. Don’t let yourself feel deprived even if you are limited in your food selection!

This recipe pairs nicely with Ginger Biscotti (I followed this recipe from King Arthur Flour!)

This is a soup many people will enjoy (even if they aren’t dairy free or following a LEAP diet), so invite someone over to share a lunch or a simple supper with you this holiday season!

Here’s to Wholesome!

Bethany

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