Sweet Potato Salad

Why is it that I always want to put "sweat" instead of "sweet"? Must be my body/mind telling me to go run, even though it is hot outside and the neighbors will see me running.

First recipe!!!

Really, if you want to know everything about Paleo and don’t want to feel like you are reading a scientist or doctor’s explanation, Everyday Paleo is the place to go. This blog also has the most fantastic recipes. When The Soldier and I first started this new foods stuff, we followed Robb Wolf’s book, The Paleo Solution, to the detail. But as I started researching more and more recipes, I stumbled on Everyday Paleo.  It’s a user friendly awesome blog and I gather most of my recipes from that particular site. There is also a new cookbook called Everyday Paleo. If you want more information, a workout plan, a grocery list and even a meal plan, check out the book. Even if you don’t eat Paleo, the book is kinda amazing. Check it out, the book and/or the blog.

So…here is a recipe for a sweet potato salad. Also, a recipe for some salad dressing. Yeah, I know. I burned noodles for mac and cheese two years ago and now I am making salad dressing from scratch. Baffles all the smarts right outta me.

Ingredients for the salad.

1 pretty large sweet potato

1 tbsp of melted coconut oil

1 apple

7 or 8 strips of bacon

2 leeks (or if you can’t find leeks…I went to three different grocery stores for leeks! Grab an onion)

A bag of baby spinach (or three handfuls of some fresh spinach

A cup of almonds (if you want…)

Here’s how you make it!

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. While it’s heating up, de-skin the sweet potato and dice that sucker up. You want to have about 3 cups worth of potato but if you have more or less, it’s no biggie. Melt the coconut oil and throw the diced potato in a bowl and pour the oil over it making sure the potato pieces are covered in it. Put the potato pieces on a cookie sheet and throw them in the oven for about 20 minutes.

While the potato pieces are cooking, dice up the bacon and then sauté them.  Dice up the leeks (or half an onion) and when the bacon is pretty well cooked, throw the leeks in the skillet and sauté for a little while longer.  Take the spinach and put it in a salad bowl and when the bacon and leeks are done cooking, pour that mixture over the spinach. The mixture will wilt the spinach and that’s what you want. Dice up the apple and throw that in the salad mix and when the potatoes are finished throw them on the salad mix.  Mix it all up.

If you want, you can chop up the almonds and add that to the salad. I really chopped, almost minced the almonds so I had some big and little pieces within the salad.

The salad alone is amazing. But if you want to add a dressing, here is a recipe for the dressing. Trust me, you want to make it not only because it is good, but so you can say you made your own salad dressing that isn’t just olive oil and vinegar!

Ingredients for the Dressing

¼ cup of olive oil

1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar

1 tsp of spicy brown mustard

1 tbsp of dried basil

A leeeetle pinch of cayenne

Here’s how you make it!!

Toss it all together. Whisk it till its smooth and then pour it on the salad mix. I’ve never been a big fan of salad dressing unless its ranch or just plain olive oil. I also loathe the smell of the apple cider vinegar and mustard (no matter brown, Dijon or just yellow). But I promise you, this is good. Really good. I actually made a bunch and canned it for my salads for lunch the next couple of day.

Enjoy!!!!

And don't forget to go check out Everyday Paleo.

I got this recipie from Everyday Paleo Warm Spinach and Sweet Potato Salad