Sweet Potato Mashers (Mashed Potatoes)

i like my mashers lumpy, but you can make them smooth if you want

I have a thing for sweet potatoes. If you told me I couldn’t eat them any more, I’m not sure I’d be able to keep my cool.

Before AIP, I was a total potato fan. Hash browns, home fries, french fries, thick cut fries dipped in blue cheese dressing with some Cholula hot sauce mixed in (seriously, if you can eat dairy and nightshades, try it), mashed, baked… c’mon back, Sue. Sigh. But now that I’m on AIP, sweet potatoes have filled the potato gap like a champ. I don’t even miss the old kind.

A Yam Is Not Just a Yam

Did you know that what we call Yams and what we call Sweet Potatoes here in the U.S. are actually all sweet potatoes? Yup! Our red-fleshed “yams” are in the same family as true sweet potatoes (family Convolvulaceae), and are not actually true yams (family Dioscoreaceae). And for the record, neither is related to regular potatoes, which are nightshades (family Solanaceae).

What the heck? The confusion started some time ago when softer red sweet potato varieties were first grown commercially in the U.S., and producers needed to differentiate them from the hard variety people were used to seeing. So they started calling them “yams”. True yams are native to Africa, Asia, and other tropical areas, and are fairly uncommon in the U.S., unless you look in an international or specialty market. But enough yammering on about the differences… (ba-doom-chh) … if you want to geek out on the differences between real yams and sweet potatoes (it is some pretty cool reading!), here are four great resources from basic to involved to rad mini-novella to botanist-nerd-treatise.

Some Sweet Beta

Sweet potatoes are low in sodium; a good source of fiber, vitamin B6 and potassium; and a great source of manganese, and Vitamins A and C. One large sweet potato has roughly 180 calories, 4g protein, 2g sugar and 37g carbs. Not bad for a such tidy little package. And red or white, they do taste great.

link to this nutrition data website is above in text

Because we on AIP don’t eat grains, our carb options are limited. Proponents of low-carb aren’t bothered. I’m not in that camp. My body needs a fair amount of carbs, especially when I’m out in the hills getting my adventure on. I fill the carb gap mainly with sweet potatoes, yams, and plantains. Lots of them!

The red variety (what we like to call “yams”) has a sweeter taste and fluffier, lighter texture when baked, while the white variety is firmer, and creates dishes that most closely mimic regular spuds. Either variety can be made into mashed potatoes; the red ones are nice for a sweeter dish (add cinnamon, maple syrup and a touch of salt) and the white ones work well for more traditional mashers with garlic and salt. Either way you choose it, just add a bit of coconut oil and grab a spoon! I eat these for breakfast and dinner.

Dehydrated mashers are super easy to make, either in your oven or a dehydrator. You’ll notice there is some flex room in my instructions below; mashers are an inexact science, and think about it – it’s hard to mess up mashed potatoes, isn’t it? The recipe below is geared for the white sweet potato variety; if you prefer the red kind, adjust for a sweeter recipe. Oven instructions are mixed in below.

Dehydrated Sweet Potato Mashed Potatoes (Mashers)

Makes four 1/2-cup servings (rehydrated)

Ingredients:
4 cups cubed white sweet potatoes (roughly 2 large spuds)
1 cup coconut milk powder
1 tsp sea salt
½ tsp garlic granules or powder
1 Tbs coconut aminos
water for steaming
optional: ½ tsp black pepper (NOT AIP)

Bring For In-Camp Preparation:
1 Tbs coconut oil per serving

Instructions:
Prep:
1. Clean and dice the spuds to 1” square pieces. I like to leave the skins on – more nutrients!
2. Steam until soft enough that a fork goes into a piece easily.
3. Drain water and let cool a bit.
4. Place spuds, dried coconut milk, salt, garlic, and aminos in a large bowl or a food processor. Leave the oil and water out.
5. Mash thoroughly till smooth.
6. Slowly add ¼ cup of water at a time, until the spuds reach a slightly runny consistency. They should be thinner than you’d typically eat them.
NOTES:
– Don’t go too thick to try and save dehydrator time; they can end up being a bit gummy, and hard to dry and pulverize completely. Err on the too-thin side if you aren’t sure.
– Don’t try to cut corners by adding the coconut oil before dehydrating. Oil will make them not dry properly, make them hard to pulverize, and can increase likelihood of spoilage during long-term storage.
– If you leave the skins on, I recommend running the mix through a food processor to break the skins up into small pieces – this way they will rehydrate better.

Dehydrate:
1. Prep trays for dehydrator (here’s mine):
Lay out parchment paper or Paraflexx sheets on 2-4 dehydrator trays (depends how runny you made it. Start with two).

fold your edges over so the paper doesn’t blow up onto the mix

If using square trays, make sure to cut your paper wider than the tray so you can fold the edges over. This keeps the air flow in the dryer from blowing the paper back over onto the mix. If you have room in your dehydrator, set the trays on every other level, so that the folded paper doesn’t reach down and get stuck to the mix on the tray below. If your dehydrator is full, just make sure your paper is cut just right with not too much extra hanging down. If you have a full dehydrator with a variety of items, alternate the spud sheets with trays that use no paper – this way the hanging edges don’t matter.

If using a round dehydrator, use your fruit leather sheets or cut circular pieces of parchment paper to fit just larger than the tray size.

Or, Prep trays for oven:
Use parchment paper laid out on large cookie sheets.

2. Pour about 1 cup of mix onto the center of each tray (if using round trays, pour it in a circle), and use a flexible spatula or large spoon to spread it out evenly to about 1/8 inch thickness. Add more if the tray will accommodate it, so the surface is fully used. The edges will dry faster than the inner part, so make the edges thicker, about 1/4 inch thick. This also helps keep the mix from running off the trays.

3. Dry at 135° for 6-12 hours (timing depends on how wet your mix is).

Oven Drying: Set on lowest temp setting. Drying time will vary depending on your stove. Leave the door propped slightly open so moisture can escape. Check the trays once in a while to make sure you’re on top of drying time.

4. Dehydrator and Oven: About halfway through, check to make sure the mix is tacky enough to peel up from the tray; take the trays out, and flip the partially-dried spud mix over to improve drying time. To do this, take the paper layer in hand, flip the whole thing upside-down, peel the paper off, and slide the spud layer back on. Put it back on the tray and continue drying.

5. Dry until mix is completely dry and crumbly.

6. Remove from dehydrator/oven and let cool completely. After cooling, double check that it’s fully dry. If not, put back in for an hour, and repeat the cool/check process.

7. Place mix in a blender or food processor, and grind until powdery. DO NOT do this if you aren’t sure it’s totally dry. You’ll end up gumming up your blender and it’s a mess to try to dry the mix further. If you like lumpy mashers (as seen in my pics here) grind till about the size of couscous.

8. Separate into 4 servings, and package up in ziploc bags.

9. Store in a cool, dark location until trip time.

10. Remember to bring the coconut oil and additional salt if desired, for camp.

In-Camp Preparation:
*These directions are per serving; quadruple if you brought the entire batch*
1. Heat 1/2 cup water (per serving) to a boil.
2. Place spuds in a heatproof cup or pot, add half the water, stir.
3. Add coconut oil, stir thoroughly, cover and let sit for a few minutes.
4. Add more hot water if desired.
5. Add pepper (optional: NOT AIP) and salt to taste, and serve.

Click below for easy print-out version of campsite instructions

sweet potato mashers packaged up as a side. dish ’em up!