Tag: crepe

Yam or Sweet Potato?

I had made some low carb crepes the other day and this morning our daughter asked (texted me from her bedroom…) if I would be making crepes again.  I remarked I needed to figure out a filling and she suggested Sweet Potatoes.  Hmm, that sounds pretty good, so thats what I did and the family really liked them!  Find the recipe here Sweet Potato filling for crepes.
In our house, we are looking for natural, healthful, low carbohydrate, and low sugar foods.  We rotate the items we bring home so that we do not eat the same thing every week and one of those items are Sweet Potatoes.  I couldn’t remember the carbohydrate count of a sweet potato so I looked it up, and then thought, I should compare with yams.  Well, it turns out that their overall carb count is close, but the grams of sugar are significantly less for a yam (150g serving = 0.8g sugar for a yam vs sweet potato’s 6.3g sugar).  With that knowledge, I then wanted to know the difference between the two.

According to North Carolina SweetPotato Commision Inc.
A true yam is a starchy edible root of the Dioscorea genus, and is generally imported to America from the Caribbean. It is rough and scaly and very low in beta carotene. http://www.ncsweetpotatoes.com/sweet-potatoes-101/difference-between-yam-and-sweet-potato/

I then thought of the canned yams that were used by my mom to make Thanksgiving dinner, so I Googled canned yams and clicked on the image of the label I recognized.

Then I saw it! “Bruce’s YAMS CUT SWEET POTATOES IN SYRUP”   WHAAAAT? I’ve been hoodwinked!  Cruel awaking – all of my Thanksgiving memories just flooded back and I can’t decide if I feel betrayed or not!

So how do I tell the difference between the two?

Another Google search and I find this great flow chart.
Original publish at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/26/sweet-potatoes-or-yams_n_4325275.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/26/sweet-potatoes-or-yams_n_4325275.html

Now I know and now you know too!

Nutrition Facts:

2/3 cups (150g) Yam Sweet Potato
Calories 177 129
Carbohydrate 41.8 30.2
Fiber 6.1 4.5
Sugar 0.8 6.3

Sweet Potato filling for crepes

This has a lightly sweet mellow flavor, great for filling low carb crepes!

4 servings

Filling Ingredients:

1 large sweet potato
6 strips turkey bacon
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
2 tsp sweetener (sugar, Splenda, stevia, brown sugar, etc)
3 tbsp butter (2 tsp softened, 1 cold)

Directions:

IMG_8948
Sweet Potato filled crepes
  1. Cook bacon, then dice and divide into 6 equal portions.
  2. Peel and cook sweet potato by your prefered method.  For speed, I cut sweet potato in half, then wrap each half with plastic wrap and microwave for 3-4 minutes.
  3. In a mixing bowl, mash sweet potatoes with fork
  4. Add cinnamon, sweetener, 2 tbsp softened butter and mix well.
  5. With open crepe on a plate, place 1/4 of mashed sweet potato across center.
  6. Sprinkle 1 portion of bacon across the filling.
  7. Fold sides of crepe over.
  8. Repeat above steps for 3 remaining crepes.
  9. Cut cold butter into very thin slices and place even amounts on top of each finished crepe
  10. Sprinkle each with 1/4 of remaining bacon
  11. Reheat each crepe in microwave for 30 seconds and serve.

Paleo Low Carb Crepes

Servings: 10

Ingredients:
6 large eggs
1 cup unsweetened almond milk or other non dairy milk
3 tbsp coconut flour, sifted
2 tsp coconut oil, melted, plus 2 tbsp for the pan
1/4 tsp sea salt

Directions:

          1. Whisk together the crepe ingredients in a bowl. Let sit for 10 minutes while the pan heats so the coconut flour can absorb the liquid, then whisk again.
          2. Heat a crepe pan or enameled skilled over the medium-high heat.
            I found this heat too high for my pans, I used med-low instead.
          3. Place 1 tablespoon of the coconut oil in the pan, swirling to coat the bottom and sides.
          4. 1/4 cup batter swirled around pan
            1/4 cup batter swirled around pan

            Pour ¼ cup of the batter into the hot pan, turning the pan in a circular motion with one hand so the batter spreads thinly around the pan. Alternatively, very quickly use a spatula to spread the batter. Fill any holes with a drop of batter, making sure the pan is fully covered.

          5. Cook for 1 minute, until the edges start to lift. Gently work a spatula under the crepe and flip it over. Cook on the second side for 15 seconds and turn out onto a plate.
            IMG_8925
            Rolling crepe to loosen from pan without tearing

            This took a little longer since I used a lower heat, but I was able to manage it better.  
            My added tip: If you have a pan like mine that seems to have a ‘hot spot’ where everything tends to stick, then I suggest that after gently working spatula under edge of crepe, roll the crepe up to be sure it is fully released from your pan, then unroll and flip.

             

          6. Continue with the remaining batter, stacking the crepes on the plate as you work. Add a little more oil to the pan after about every 3 to 4 crepes if they begin to stick.

Thanks to Steven and Chris at LiveWell Network for posting this recipe from Against All Grain: Delectable Paleo Recipes to Eat Well & Feel Great, by Danielle Walker  http://livewellnetwork.com/Steven-and-Chris/recipes/Paleo-Crepes/9304914