I was fortunate to attend the final competition in Washington D.C. where I witnessed the talent of student chefs from across the country! One of the dishes stood out, the Jacksonville team created these amazing sweet potato muffins.
Several people in my family have health issues, so I wanted to make sure my contribution to the table had a healthy twist. That said, I was so excited to try this recipe for the holidays, but I had no idea that it would be such a hit!
I followed the recipe that was shared on our HSC blog to the letter and had no major issues outside of a cramp in my hand from mashing the sweet potatoes. I tried to puree them in a blender, but it took forever! I doubled the recipe and it still made more than enough, 40 muffins to be exact! The best part was adding the mixture, I loved the smell of brown sugar, nutmeg, and potatoes...it's a smell fit for a kitchen in the Fall and Winter months!
I added maple syrup on some, but most of my family was fine eating the muffins plain! I'd also recommend whip cream as a topping.
It was so great to see these puppies come out well. When we shared the recipe in our newsletter, so many people were interested in trying it. If you did, let me know how you liked it! I was also proud to see how our youth are speaking up for healthy food and eating habits. Earlier this summer, the Cooking up Change Jacksonville team met First Lady Michelle Obama, who commended their efforts to promote healthy eating!
Lessons Learned:
- None! It came out perfect!
- The only observations is that my muffins were a little sunken in because our oven doesn't properly heat, thankfully it didn't matter.
- Be considerate of guests. As I said earlier, several guests have health issues so they could only eat the plain muffin. As an alternative, provide low-fat whipped cream or maple syrup with no sugar added.
