Healthy Herb & Cheese Sweet Potato bites

If you have been following my blog recipes for a while, you will have probably established how big of a sweet tooth I have, (much like my mother... Thank god for healthier guilt-free alternatives!). My dad on the other hand prefers to snack more on savoury foods. Hence why this time, I thought I'd attempt something he could also enjoy, and prevent him from nibbling on the fried Indian snacks we have lying around from recent wedding celebrations!

Since I had a pre-baked sweet potato sitting in the fridge waiting patiently to be eaten, I thought I'd experiment with it a little by combining sweet and savoury flavours so that both parents could take advantage this weeks creation. It is a common thing to eat sweet potatoes with savoury dishes after all, so I figured there should be no reason why this combo wouldn't work... I wasn't wrong! 

The main aim with these were to ensure they were small enough to have as a healthy snack on the go or savoury treat to have with a hot cuppa, yet satisfying enough to be enjoyed in moderation. Thankfully they were just that! Deliciously herby and moist, and the melted cheesy centre when bitten into as they came fresh out of the oven just sent these to another level!

As with all my recipes, not only are they made from natural and unprocessed ingredients, these are gluten-free, and wheat-free since the base of this recipe comes from sweet potato and quinoa- two incredible nutrient dense carbohydrates sources! 

Ingredients:

250g (cooked weight without skin) or two large sweet potatoes (I find slow baked is best!)

100g quinoa flour (or buckwheat would work well too- just blend your grains in a food processor to turn it into a flour)

30g organic grass fed butter

32g of your favourite cheese cut into small cubes (I used a black peppered cheddar which tasted insanely delicious!)

1 large free range egg

1 tsp dried mixed herbs

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/3 tsp sea salt

1/3 tsp black pepper

              

1. Pre-heat fan assisted oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

2. Simply place all ingredients except the cheese into an electric mixer/food processor and mix until well combined. Alternatively separately mix the wet (sweet potato, butter, egg) and dry ingredients (quinoa flour, baking powder, herbs), then combine the two together. It should form a smooth paste much like a sloppy cake batter!

3. Line a cupcake tray with 16 cupcake cases, and use about 2/3 of the batter to spoon roughly one heaped tablespoon of the mixture into each

4. Evenly distribute the cheese between the cupcake cases, placing a couple of cubes into the centre of each 

5. Evenly distribute the remaining batter between the cupcake cases with the remaining batter to ensure the cheese is covered

6. Place in the oven on the middle shelf and bake for 20-25 minutes until the tops have become firm and slightly golden

7. Best enjoyed hot so this step requires you to just, well... EAT! ;)

Store in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.

Can be enjoyed hot or cold! To re-heat, either microwave for 15-20 seconds, or re-heat in the oven on 200 degrees for 5-8 minutes.

Approximate macro breakdown per cheesy bite:

77 kcals, 3.1g Fat, 10g Carb, 2.1g Protein, 1g Fiber