How to Make a Sweet Potato Shake

That gorgeous houseplant above is nothing less than a sweet potato that sprouted before we got a change to cook it. The tender young leaves are delicious in a salad or as they get a bit larger, cooked up like spinach. When I'm pinching back the plant to make it branch out, I love to nibble on the new shoots.

Like most people, I love to eat the tuberous root of the sweet potato, too, and my favorite way to fix it is as a yummy milkshake. The side photo is what is left of the one I used to make the shake I'm drinking now. It's leaves haven't opened yet, but when they it, this, too, will become a lovely houseplant and, eventually, a whole bunch of new sweet potatoes, as well.

My recipe:

Just pop a whole sweet potato, or part of one, in a microwave safe bowl with a little bit of water to create steam. Cover it and microwave on high for a few minutes until it is soft when stuck with a fork.

After the potato has cooled a bit, the skin will slide right off. Put about half a small peeled sweet potato and a little honey or agave syrup, some milk, and a few ice cubes in the blender (I use the Magic Bullet for this), pulse it a few times to break up the ice, and blend until smooth. If it comes out too thick to drink, just stir in a little milk. If it is too thin, just blend in another ice cube or two.

It is surprising how sweet and delicious this vegetable is in a shake, and truly after tasting a few of these, I rather lost my interest in the overly sweet ice cream shakes that I used to like. When first making these, I kept adding different spices to try to jazz them up, but after a time it became evident that the most delicious flavor came from the sweet potato itself, so I soon quit adding anything other than a bit of natural sweetener. I like to use agave syrup because it is low glycemic and the light flavor perfectly compliments the earthy sweetness of the vegetable. However, a bit of birch sugar (also known as Xylitol), which is also low glycemic and believed to help prevent tooth decay also works.