For Martin Luther King Day, we offer African-American dysphagia patients Warm Sweet Potato Pie topped with Whipped Topping and Organic Caramel Sauce for a dessert or a snack. Ours is the low-sugar version of the pie, a standard dessert in soul food restaurants and a classic Southern treat.   Our version is the classic, with a twist. We add some orange juice or tangerine juice to balance the sweetness, but this is optional. We like the recipe because you can use more or less of the soft-baked sweet potato to get the correct thickness for your level of the NDD.

For the crust, we use the very short Walkers brand of shortbread instead of a crust, to add the richness. We use Walkers because it eliminates graininess in the puree and is good for the swallow.   Alternatively, you can use a biscuit cutter and cut out a two inch circle of cornbread about ¾ inch thick to get the taste of a crust. If you make your own cornbread, use it. If not, store bought is fine. As always, check with your healthcare provider to make sure this is permissible.

This is one of our deconstructed desserts that goes straight to puree. It is how to make a pie without making a pie. Here’s a piece of news: while this pie is delicious, the sweet potato is good for you. The South Beach Diet calls the sweet potato a superfood. According to the research from their website—the line was founded by a noted cardiologist at Miami Beach’s Mount Sinai Hospital:

Sweet potatoes (and other bright orange vegetables): An outstanding source of carotenoids (including beta carotene), as well as vitamin C, calcium, potassium, and iron, sweet potatoes (and other orange vegetables such as carrots, pumpkin, and butternut squash) can help reduce high blood pressure, fight cataracts and age-related macular degeneration, and boost your resistance to colds and infections.

We used one of the high speed blenders that will make soups to serve this as a warm pie. (See our product reviews for brands and shopping sites elsewhere on this website.) If you do not have one of these blenders, make the shake as usual and warm in the microwave on 50% power or warm in a pan until it is just above body temperature. Here’s how to create a healthy version of the sublime sweet potato pie.

Slow-Baked Sweet Potatoes Shake with Orange

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 90 minutes | Level: Easy | Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 4 medium sweet potatoes, approximately the same size (1 and a half lbs.)
• 2 tbls. olive or vegetable oil
• 2 tbls. orange marmalade (preferably lower sugar)
• 2 tbls. orange juice
• ½ cup coconut milk

For the Crust

Walkers brand Scottish shortbread cookies, 2 per serving or A 2 inch disk of cornbread, approximately ¾ inch thick

Spice Blend

• Shake of cinnamon
• Shake of allspice
• Tiny Shake of cloves

For Service (optional)

• So Coco Whip Coconut Whipped Topping
• St. Dalfour Organic Caramel Sauce (No refined sugar)

Directions

Preheat oven to 300 degrees Wash and dry potatoes and cut off sharp ends or blemishes. Puncture each potato three times with knife to allow steam to escape. Put oil in a shallow bowl and brush outside of potato with oil. Cover with aluminum foil. Line up on baking sheet, leaving distance between for air to circulate. Bake 90 minutes, until potatoes are soft. Remove from oven and allow to cool enough to handle.

For the Puree

Open foil and remove skins, scraping out potato flesh and placing in bowl and mashing until soft consistency with no fibers. Pick out any fibers. Place potato flesh in blender with coconut milk, spices, marmalade and juice. Coconut milk provides fat for proper absorption of vitamin A. Make sure the spices are fully blended. Remove with a spoon any unblended spices. For those who like more sweetness, add a little honey to sweeten up the puree. Or add a tablespoon of the caramel sauce for sweetness. It is sweetened with agave and rice syrups.

The full fat coconut milk will give this pie a very creamy texture and does not have the sugar content of evaporated milk, usually used for sweet potato pie. For additional creaminess, add a tablespoon or two of the So Coco Whip Coconut Whipped Topping. Use the soup function on a high speed blender such as the Vitamix, the Nutribullet RX or the Ninja version. Or blend in a regular blender and then head on the stove or in the microwave until slightly warmer than body temperature.

Swirl Away!

Photo Credit: RebeccaVC1 via Compfight cc