We're big fans of smoothies in the Epi test kitchen, tossing our extra recipe testing ingredients—frozen blueberries, leftover kale, extra yogurt or coconut milk—into the blender for a morning treat. The other day, I was digging around in the freezer for something delicious, when I found a package of frozen sweet potatoes left over from a testing project. I was instantly reminded of an old smoothie favorite of mine: sweet potato, turmeric, orange juice, and ginger.
I whipped up a batch for my kitchen teammates, but they were hesitant. "I didn't know you could eat sweet potato raw," our Food Director Rhoda Boone said.
Turns out a lot of people think you have to cook sweet potatoes before you eat them. But unlike regular potatoes, which contain the dangerous enzyme solanine in their raw state, sweet potatoes can actually be consumed raw. I wouldn't bite into one like an apple—sweet potatoes have an enzyme inhibitor that can make digestion difficult when eaten in large quantities—but a handful tossed into the smoothie blender adds huge nutritional benefits. Sweet potatoes are high in Vitamin A and C, fiber, potassium, and iron, and are a relatively low-calorie addition to your smoothie blend.
I usually grate raw sweet potatoes for easier blending in smoothies, but the frozen chunks make it super simple to toss directly into the blender and help keep the whole thing cold. You can easily substitute sweet potatoes in for carrot, mango, or peach in your current favorite recipe. Blend it with turmeric, ginger, and coconut water for a tropical take. Or try it with cinnamon and pecans for something like that other genius use of sweet potatoes: sweet potato pie.
