Sweet Potato Brownies & Cashew Nut Ice Cream

Posted on July 26, 2016 by Jenny Cromack

A couple of weekends ago we held one of our residential boot camps at Lineham Farm in Leeds. Our boot camps are based around three values:

1. Education – empowering people to understand how to make healthy choices.

2. Enjoyable exercise – Yes! you heard rightly, exercise can be enjoyable!

3. Healthy, tasty food – believe me, with appetites like the personal training team have at motive8 north, there is no room for rabbit food at motive8 boot camps!

We want to show everyone that healthy food can be tasty and enjoyable, not bland and boring! So on the Saturday evening as we rested our weary legs, we sat down to enjoy a healthy three course meal. The dessert was sweet potato brownies with cashew nut ice cream. The boot-campers could not believe it when we told them the brownies were made from sweet potatoes! So, if you fancy making a dessert but keeping it relatively healthy then give these little beauties a try!

The ‘On The Go’ Nut Bars which we featured a few weeks ago, went down like a treat too! So, if you missed the recipe before, here it is!

Sweet Potato Brownies

Makes 10 portions

2 medium to large sweet potatoes (600g)                                                                  80g ground almonds
100g brown rice flour                                                                                                    14 medjool dates – chopped
4tbsp raw cacao                                                                                                              2 tbsp honey
Almond milk or coconut milk to bind

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180oC
2. Peel the potatoes, cut into chunks and steam until they become really soft (almost falling apart)
3. Place the potatoes and dates into a food processor and blitz. This will create a sweet, creamy mixture.
4. Put the rest of the ingredients, except the milk, in a bowl. Add the sweet potato and date mix and stir well.
5. If you need, add a small amount of milk to bind and get a good consistency – it shouldn’t be too runny or dry. The mixture should just stick to your fingers or spoon.
6. Place into a lined baking tin and cook for 20 minutes. When you pierce the brownie with a knife it should come out dry.
7. Remove the tray and leave to cool for 10 minutes.
8. Cut into squares.

Blueberry ‘Ice Cream’ 

Serves 4

This is a great alternative to ice cream. For a creamier version add a couple of tablespoons of Greek yoghurt to the mixture. You can also substitute the blueberries with strawberries or whatever berries take your fancy!

100g raw cashews                                                                                                          180g frozen blueberries
80ml water                                                                                                                      2 tbsp agave syrup

1. Soak the cashews overnight then drain
2. Whizz all the ingredients in an ice cream maker and then transfer to the freezer
3. If you don’t have an ice cream maker then blitz in a blender, transfer to a Tupperware box and put in the freezer
4. Keep stirring every hour or so until set.

Whilst these are healthier versions of what are normally unhealthy foods, remember to still have them as an occasional treat – they shouldn’t be a staple part of your daily diet!