Sweet Potato Mug Cake

Sweet Potato Mug Cake

Sweet potato truly is the god of all foods and I think everybody should be eating them. Compared to your bog standard potato, they have a much higher nutritional value, and are lower in calories per 100g. A sweet potato is high in complex carbs and dietary fibre, and provides slow release natural sugars so will keep you full for a long time. Out of all the root vegetables, they are one of the best sources of vitamin C, D and B6 as well as other minerals such as manganese, potassium and iron. So, those are the health benefits of eating them, now let me tell you another reason why you should be eating them... They are delicious!

There are numerous different ways of preparing sweet potatoes. I have tried quite a few recipes myself, but this is the first time I have tried it in a mug cake. I got the idea here. For dinner last night I knew I wanted a sweet potato as it would be easy to prepare and I did not have time to cook much else as I had to rush out to play tennis with my Mum. So I decided to bake one potato and have half for my main and half for my dessert - this shows how versatile they are. For the main I topped the sweet potato with shrimps which I seasoned with paprika, cayenne pepper, chilli powder, garlic powder and onion granules. I then topped it with some Greek yoghurt and chilli flakes. It was scrumptious! (see pic below)

Main Meal

 I then used the second half of the potato to make a yummy dessert, which satisfied the sweet craving I get sometimes after my dinner. A mug cake is a brilliant way to get your cake fix minus the gluten. I personally find that gluten does not agree too well with my tummy, so this is a saviour for me. The base ingredients for the cake are items that you probably will already have in your cupboards, and any extras you want to throw in, you can! So start off baking a whole sweet potato by microwaving it for 10 minutes on full power (make sure you spike it with a fork a few times first).... 

Ingredients

1/2 baked sweet potato, minus the skin

1/2 banana

1 egg white

1/2 tsp baking powder

2 tbsp dessicated coconut

2 tsp stevia (or other sweetener)

1 tbsp cottage cheese

2 tsp almond milk (can add more if mixture is too thick)

Suggested Toppings

handful of goji berries

drizzle of honey

1 tsp natural peanut butter

Instructions

1. Mash the sweet potato and banana together with a fork in a large mug (mug needs to be quite tall)

2. Add all other ingredients and mix until you have a smooth batter consistency

3. Microwave for 2-3 minutes depending on how soft/firm you prefer it. I did  mine for 2 minutes and it could of done with a little longer to be honest as you can see it collapsed slightly

4. Leave to cool for 1 minute after taking the mug out of the microwave

5. Turn the mug upside down onto a plate, the cake should just slide out

6. Add your toppings

Eat!

This meal kept me full up, and fueled me enough to be able to play tennis late into the night. If I hadn't of made the mug cake, then I probably would of just had the whole sweet potato for my main. So really I've not actually added a huge amount of calories but still managed to incorporate a yummy dessert into my meal. It's a win, win situation! I will definitely be making this again soon.

Lucy x