Sweet Potato Bread

Nothing says love like a loaf of fresh baked bread 🍞✨💛🧡💛✨🍞

Comprised of the water and the earth elements, the sweet taste is inherently nourishing, calming and stabilizing. As we inch closer and closer to the fall equinox, we need to prepare the body to transition from a time of energy and abundance of summer to rest and relaxation of autumn. Incorporating the sweet taste into our diet provides a signal to the body to take root and move from the sympathetic nervous system to the parasympathetic nervous system. This transition into the parasympathetic brain allows for us to bypass the feeling of anxiety, nervousness and restlessness that can be triggered by the influx of momentum and movement that comes with the arrival of Vata season 🧠🌟🧠

Sweet potato is unique among comfort foods for its Kapha pacifying lightness. This tuber is beneficial even for those with heavy digestive symptoms. Unlike dairy products, potatoes, and other common comfort foods like pasta, sweet potatoes feel light in the stomach, while still being nourishing. Sweet potato is supportive for digestion and contains ample fiber to encourage good elimination. Besides simple starches, sweet potatoes are rich in complex carbohydrates, which means these roots can satisfy the appetite for long stretches. Despite the name "sweet," it may be a beneficial food for diabetics as preliminary studies revealed it helps to stabilize blood sugar levels 💓💗💓

Ingredients:

  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil

  • 1 medium sweet potato, chopped 

  • 1 1/2 cups spelt (or all-purpose) flour

  • 1 teaspoon baking soda

  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger

  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon

  • 1 teaspoon ground clove

  • 1 teaspoon cardamom

  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

  • 2 large eggs

  • 1/4 cup maple syrup

  • 1/4 cup almond milk

  • 1/3 cup sunflower seeds

  • 1/3 cup raisins

Instructions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9x5 pan with coconut oil 

  2. Place a sauce pot on medium high heat and add water. Bring water to a boil and add the chopped sweet potato and let simmer for 5-7 minutes or until the sweet potato is tender

  3. Sift flour and baking soda through a sieve into a medium sized bowl. Add in ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and salt and mix to incorporate

  4. Once sweet potato is tender, remove the sauce pot from heat and pour contents through a colander to strain the water from the sweet potato. Set aside to cool. 

  5. In a blender, add the eggs, sweet potato, sifted flour and spices maple syrup and almond milk. Mix to combine. 

  6. Heat a sauté pan on medium heat and toast the sunflower seeds until they start to brown, about 2-3 minutes 

  7. Add raisins and sunflower seeds to sweet potato mixture. Pour mixture into 9x5 pan and place in the oven for an hour 

Stephanie Wright