Sweet Potato Breakfast Pudding

There's an awesome movement in the health food world to rethink American notions of "breakfast food". In cultures all over the world, people eat (gasp!) the same type of dish for all three meals of the day. Why is this awesome? Well, for one, it champions leftovers over wastefulness. Secondly, food often tastes better the next day, when the flavors have had time to marry and meld. Most importantly, however, this usually means you're getting a healthier, more well-rounded meal.

Lunches and dinners typically contain more produce, protein and way less sugar than the Standard American B-fast. Processed cereal, soaking in skim milk, topped with banana and accompanied by orange juice? Friends, this is a recipe for disaster and will wreak havoc on your blood sugar (think: sweets cravings, irritability, dependency on coffee etc.).

That said, I will readily admit that the idea of chicken and vegetables doesn't really get my salivary glands going first thing in the morning. Try as I might, I rarely enjoy a savory meal for breakfast, and I know I'm not alone! Most mornings, I'm happy with a combination of oats & green smoothies. But everyone's taste buds need variety, and I find that some of my clients have difficulty digesting grains. Others don't want a cold/liquid breakfast, eliminating smoothies.

Enter this slightly out of season but never out of style insanely delicious sweet potato pudding!!! I developed this recipe to use leftover boiled sweet potato (I was making my Sweet Potato Cupcakes), and I wanted to keep it super simple. With 5 ingredients or less and pretty much 2 steps, this is a breakfast you can look forward to making and eating. Sweet potatoes are a powerhouse of Vitamins C and A and a host of essential minerals like potassium and manganese. Medjool dates are one of my favorite sweeteners, for their gooey caramel flavor and high fiber content. A bit of banana and vanilla extract truly makes this taste like dessert!

You've heard me tout the magical benefits of grassfed gelatin here, but my go-to source is THIS post by the Wellness Mama (I cannot recommend her site enough). Here, gelatin provides protein to give this breakfast staying power and a thick texture. It is also amazing for your skin and hair! You can absolutely leave this out if you like, but I would be sure to top your pudding with nuts for protein, or you could even stir in some protein powder.

This breakfast is cooling, rich, grain-free, easy and versatile (read: b-fast, snack or dessert from personal experience). I would also imagine this could be a great recipe for little ones. Enjoy!