Chipotle Smashed Sweet Potatoes

Thanksgiving was wonderful; wasn't it?

But now, like everyone else, I've got a lot of leftovers. In the past, I would just continue the gluttony and "eat off" the leftover food (so as not to be wasteful, of course.) But those days are over. Anything I can't send home with the dinner guests in to-go containers is given a day or two and then....adios. And let's face it -no one wants YOUR leftovers because they have plenty of their own so you can't pawn them off on friends. 

I typically make a sweet potato casserole for Thanksgiving dinner (that even with the makeover I've  given it, is still pretty decadent.) Inevitably, I cook too many sweet potatoes to prepare this dish which means my leftovers now have leftovers.

Thankfully, I've got a solution for that! (Now you won't have to be wasteful.)

Yams go yummy with the smoky flavor of chipotle 

This sweet potato recipe serves as a great way to get your small portion of (healthy) starchy carbs in a delicious recipe -without all the butter and sugar. I originally posted it a couple years ago and received a good deal of positive feedback on it.

It really kicks up the flavor a notch or two without the "bad" stuff that jacks up the calories, destroys the natural flavors, and sends you on your way way to Metabolic Syndrome. It appears just as I found it; borrowed from The Food Network's chef Alton Brown- and is it good!

The smoky chipotle flavor lends an exotic taste to the traditional autumn tuber. But don't go crazy with the peppers-things can get real spicy, real fast.

Suggestion: use only 1 tablespoon of butter and keep the portion small and you'll have good, clean, carbs to fuel your workout. Look for canned chipotle peppers in the "Hispanic foods" section of your supermarket.

 Chipotle Smashed Sweet Potatoes

Prep Time:  10 Minutes                                                                                Cook Time: 30 Minutes

Yield:  5-6 (small) Servings

2 Large Sweet Potatoes, peeled and cubed

2 Tablespoons unsalted butter

1 Whole (canned) chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, chopped

½ teaspoon salt

Put cubed potatoes into steamer basket and place steamer into a large pot of simmering water that is no closer than 2 inches from the bottom of the basket.  Allow to steam for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender. Add butter to potatoes and mash with a potato masher.  Add peppers, sauce, and salt and continue mashing to combine.  Serve immediately.

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Fitness expert and strength coach Jini Cicero, CSCS, teaches intermediate exercisers how to blast through plateaus to create incredible transformations. Are you ready to take your fitness to a whole new level?  Find out now!  Take Jini's "Are you Ready?" Quiz at www.Jinifit.com. © 2014 Jinifit, Inc.

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