Sunday, April 5, 2015

HIGH PROTEIN SWEET POTATO CHOCOLATE CHIP RECIPE




So I believe I've said this many times before and I'm going to say it again: I'm a sugar habit . It kinda sucks especially when sugary snacks are so easily accessible: the vending machine at work or the coffee machine that is always in plenty supply of hot chocolate with a million artificial ingredients that would take me a minute to try to pronounce. So to  keep my insatiable sweet tooth in check, I vowed to always keep healthy sweet treats within arm's length.  The best line of defense is an offense, right?
So after browsing the internet in search for a, keyword EASY & SIMPLE , recipe, I found this one. This was one of the many Paleo dessert recipes I found. Now, let me make this clear: I do not follow a Paleo diet or any other specific diet for that matter because I find most follow similar guidelines. Not to mention, having certain foods that are completely off limits just makes me want them even more.  
Now back to the recipe, it seemed fairly easy to execute so I was excited to give it a go. I had most ingredients in my kitchen except for almond butter which I substituted with my trusty ol' crunchy peanut butter.  

After sampling the cookies, it was definitely not your regular chocolate chip cookies and why would it be? I could taste the sweet potato and peanut butter coming through but guess what? I LOOOVE sweet potato and peanut butter so win-win! So let me stop babbling and give you the deets to this recipe.

Ingredients
·         1 small sweet potato or yam
·         ½ cup smooth almond butter
·         1 egg, whisked
·         1 tablespoon honey
·         1 teaspoon vanilla extract
·         1 scoop (35 grams) Vanilla Protein Powder
·         ⅛ teaspoon cinnamon
·         pinch of salt
·         ½ cup Mini Chocolate Chips
Instructions
1.      Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Poke holes in a sweet potato with a knife then place in oven and bake for 35-40 minutes or until sweet potato is completely soft. Then let cool. Reduce oven heat to 350 degrees.
2.      Peel sweet potato away from skin and place in a medium bowl. Mash with a fork until soft.
3.      Add almond butter, egg, honey and vanilla and mix well. Then add protein powder, cinnamon and salt and mix well.
4.      Fold in chocolate chips.
5.      Use a cookie scoop or tablespoon to scoop out batter and place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. The batter should make 12-13 cookies.
6.      Bake for 10-12 minutes or until cooked through. Do not overcook.


Enjoy!!!