Spiced Sweet Potato Smoothie

This spiced sweet potato smoothie is a simple and delicious way to pack in tons of nutrients! With just a few ingredients and five minutes you can make this smoothie for breakfast on-the-go or an anytime snack.

I love smoothies - my go-to has been this coffee banana smoothie for a long time. Another seasonal favorite is my pumpkin smoothie.

And since I keep a batch of sweet potatoes cooked in the Instant Pot each week in the fridge at all times, I had the thought...why not a sweet potato smoothie?

Best things to put in a smoothie

All smoothies need a few basic ingredients: a base, a liquid, and ingredients to add additional flavor and nutritional value.

Smoothie bases

For the base, you want something that is going to make the smoothie thick. If you don't, it will end up being overpowered by the ice and you'll end up with a mostly ice smoothie, which is often disappointing.

Things I like to use as base are typically starchy - banana and pumpkin are my go-tos from the previously mentioned smoothies.

Recently I've been experimenting with sweet potato as a base, and I've been so happy with the results that I wanted to share the deliciousness that is a sweet potato smoothie with you.

Smoothie liquids

The most obvious liquid is water, but this isn't always the best choice. Especially if you're using ice, the water can make it runny and/or frosty (and not in the Wendy's kind of way).

I typically like to use an alternative milk as my smoothie liquid. My most common go-to is almond milk, which is what I use here!

It creates a creamier texture without the addition of conventional dairy, which I avoid at all costs.

Sweet potato smoothie ingredients

Sweet potato

It's no secret that I love sweet potatoes. Sweet potato breakfast hash, buffalo chicken stuffed sweet potatoes, sweet potato salad...the list goes on.

It's worth mentioning that sweet potatoes are a nutrient powerhouse. They're my go-to healthy dense carbohydrate, and power me through many a workout at Holy City CrossFit.

Sweet potato facts:

• just one sweet potato gives you 400% your daily vitamin A
• they are naturally packed with vitamin B5, riboflavin, niacin, thiamin, and carotenoids due to their naturally orange color
• sweet potatoes contain anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, and anticancer properties
• most sweet potatoes are orange in color, but there are others that come in purple, yellow, white, pink, and red
• sweet potatoes can be used in the regulation of blood sugar levels especially in people with diabetes: their relatively low glycemic index means that they release sugar into the bloodstream slowly, unlike other starchy foods, which aids in controlling the blood sugar levels of individuals so that it does not go low or high

Flax seed + meal

Flaxseed is commonly used to improve digestive health or relieve constipation. 

It may also help lower total blood cholesterol and LDL, or "bad" cholesterol levels, which can help reduce the risk of heart disease.

Ground flax seed, otherwise known as flax meal, is better for your digestive system, so go for the meal over the whole seeds when you can!

I use the meal in smoothies, as it blends in easier and can help maintain the thickness of the smoothie.

Almond milk

Almond milk is low in calories, low in sugar, and is my favorite dairy alternative. When we weaned my son off of breast milk, we switched him over to almond milk.

It is made by grinding almonds, mixing them with water and then filtering the mixture to create a product that looks a lot like milk and has a nutty flavor.

If you're interested in other dairy alternatives, you can read all about the different dairy substitutes and how to use them here.

Cinnamon + ginger

Cinnamon has antioxidant, antibiotic, and anti-inflammatory properties. Some research shows cinnamon may be good for people with diabetes, and may also lower cholesterol.

Oh, and it's delicious.

Ginger is often used to aid digestion, reduce nausea, and help fight the flu and common cold, lower cholesterol, and improve brain function.

Gingerol is the main bioactive compound in ginger. It’s responsible for much of ginger’s medicinal properties. Gingerol has powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects.

How to make a sweet potato smoothie

If you've got cooked sweet potato on hand, this smoothie could not be easier.

Simply add all your ingredients into the blender and blend on high power for 30-60 seconds, or until completely smooth.

I scraped down the sides once and blended again, but this will just depend on your blender and how it handles things!

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