It’s fall, it’s October and it’s time to get rooted!
By that I mean it’s time to start exploring 
So let me ask, are you eating root veggies? Do you know how good they are for you? If you aren’t including yams, squash, beets, carrots, radish, rutabaga – it’s time to start.
However, the root veggie I am most excited about right now is the white sweet potato, also known as Japanese sweet potatoes. This is a variety of sweet potato that is just plain old white. Although not as pretty to look at as purple or orange, are still part of the family so don’t forget about them!
These are truly just sweet potatoes that are not orange. I know that is not a very glamorous answer, but I can assure you that they are just as delicious. They are sweet, soft and delicious. Okay so they don’t have the beta carotene properties that orange ones provide but what they do offer is a white version of a healthier potato. Why is this great?
They can be used just as you would any old white potato (but offer the nutritional benefits of a sweet potato) ; they can be roasted in the oven, mashed, cut into wedges or fries or pureed into a creamy soup. They have a starchy, mild, chest nut flavour and are incredibly sweet.
This is also helpful for the fussy one that is not interested in eating anything but white potatoes, as they really wont notice the difference and if anything will like the taste of these so much better! I can’t begin to tell you how much I love them.
So much so that I had to whip together this amazing soup earlier this week.
Surreal Sweet Potato Leek Soup
Prep time 20 min
Cook time 40 min
Stores for 4 days in fridge
4 leeks chopped
1 tbsp grapeseed oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
6 cups of water
1 teaspoon sea salt
8 small to medium oriental or white sweet potatoes, cut into medium chunks or cubes.
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
Salt and pepper to taste.
1. Warm a large pot over medium heat and add the grapeseed oil, chopped leeks and garlic.
2. Saute the leeks for 5-10 minutes until they become soft and tender, add a pinch of sea salt.
3. Pour in 6 cups of filtered water and chopped potatoes and bring water to a boil. Then lower the heat to a low simmer for 25 minutes.
4. Stir in the thyme, rosemary and text the potatoes with a fork to make sure they are tender.
5. Using a hand immersion blender or large blender puree the soup until it is creamy with no lumps.
6. Stir in the nutritional yeast and any additional salt or pepper if desired.
7. Ladle into bowl and top with sprouts, pumpkin seeds, more nutritional yeast and of course, Enjoy!
