Why did I just eat so much? Why do bacon and eggs go well so together? Why am I watching ‘I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry’ by myself on a Saturday night?
You don’t have an answer? Me neither.
Wait. Now I’m watching ‘The Wedding Planner’. Ugh, gag me.
Actually, I know why. Because my face is in a lot of pain. Acne is straight up painful. It legitimately hurts. And trying to get rid of it hurts even more. I went to see the woman who works on my face and she definitely had her work cut out for her. So frustrating. I eat well, I work hard, but my face is still ridden with extremely unattractive bumps. Dumb. So going out on a Saturday night with my face looking like someone had thrown darts at it was out of the question. Plus going out sucks. My couch is incredibly comfortable. My blanket is even more comfortable. AND I own fuzzy socks. Boom.
Wanna know a secret that’s not really a secret now because of the world of Facebook?! My birthday is coming up. Yes, yes it is. And yes, I know I can remove my birthday from my Facebook, but who wants to do that when a ton of random people you never talk to you tell you happy birthday? That sh*t feels good. Don’t act like you don’t love it. But anyways, I’ve decided for my birthday, I’m going to spend money I don’t have on a new camera. I’m going to do it. Then maybe someday, if I have more money that doesn’t really exist, I can put together a cookbook. With good pictures. That make your stomach growl. And sing joyful songs.
Like this recipe. This bread was delicious. Straight up wonderful. ESPECIALLY with the walnuts on top. My friend Zanna had the idea of making it into french toast which is GENIUS. But I didn’t try it…because I ate all of it….pretty quickly. Laura had like 4 bites too so it evens it all out, right? Thought so.
Maple Walnut Sweet Potato Loaf
- Yield: 4-8 1x
Ingredients
For the bread
- 1 medium sweet potato (or yam) ~ equivalent to 1 cup, skin removed after baking
- 1 cup roasted, unsalted cashews
- 6 medjool dates, pitted
- 3 eggs, whisked
- 2 tablespoons raw honey
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- pinch of salt
For the topping
- 1.5 cup walnuts, chopped
- 1/4 cup raw honey
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon maple extract
- pinch of salt
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
- Poke holes in your sweet potato and bake for 30-40 minutes or until soft and completely cooked through.*
- While your sweet potato cooks, add your dates to a food processor and pulse to combine. Then add your cashews and let run until you have paste with the cashews completely broken down and combine with the dates.
- Once your sweet potato is cooked, reduce heat of oven to 350 degrees.
- Add cashew and date mixture to a bowl, along with your baked sweet potato with the skin removed, eggs and all other bread ingredients. Mix well.
- Grease two loaf pans (I used 9 x 5 sized) and add your sweet potato mixture equally to both pans.
- Bake for 15-18 minutes then let cool.
- While the bread is baking, place a small skillet over medium heat and add your coconut oil then chopped walnuts.
- Let the walnuts begin to toast for a minute or two, then add your honey, cinnamon, maple extract, and pinch of salt.
- Mix to combine and let cook for about 1-2 minutes more.
- Add your sticky nut mixture to the top of your sweet potato breads.
- Let cool completely (the nut mixture will harden a bit) then cut and serve!
Notes
If you want that process to be quicker, add your holey sweet potato to the microwave and cook on high for 3-4 minutes or until soft.
_____________
You into this? I bet you’ll love this!
Dark Chocolate Raspberry Chia Banana Bread
Moist Chocolate Zucchini Bread (nut free)
________________
Click Here To Get All My PaleOMG Recipes Into Your Meal Planner With Real Plans!
I may be compensated through my affiliate links in this post, but all opinions are my own. This compensation helps with expenses to keep this blog up and running!
Can not wait to try this. Yum. BTW, I just read that coffee enemas help acne. Not much fun, but maybe worth a try. You can tell us all about it!
Juli, have you had a chance to try coconut oil for your acne. Some people break out real bad for a couple of weeks after they start using coconut oil as it pushes out the bacteria of their skin, some don’t break out at all. But, just keep using it and your skin will clear up and be beautiful. It’s natural and doesn’t dry out your skin. Here’s a URL for some feed back on what people who have tried it say about it. Good luck.
http://www.acne.org/coconut-oil-reviews/474/page1.html
I totally agree with Tim on this one. I had evaded coconut oil because of the comedogenic rating because I thought I’d have a breakout. Somewhere in the fall last year I tried it out and it worked miracles for both my acne and my acne scars. The only time I did have a breakout was when I left it overnight. A lot of people are just scared of clogged pores, when in reality as long as you wash it off you’re safe. I found this article with 3 methods of applying it, personal fav of mine is Method #3. But really, it’s worth checking out!
https://healthead.com/coconut-oil-acne-scars
I did a lot of research about buying a camera recently and the photographers I talked to all suggested Cannons in the Rebel series. The T3i is the latest “best” version, but from what I read you can get one of the cheaper versions like the T1, T2 or T3 (without the i) and they are pretty much the same give or take a few features. But the trick is in the lenses and the flashes that are of course, add-ons. So maybe spend a little less on the camera, and buy a nice flash. Also – save some time to learn how the F to use it b/c those cameras are complicated!
Hopefully this advice can save you a little time when figuring out which camera to buy? You’re awesome and we all support you!
I had a Canon T2i with a 50 mm lens, and it was absolutely outstanding. Took amazing portrait shots. I had to sell it 🙁
A 50mm will cost you next to nothing, and make people, food, whatever look dead sexy!
Juli Juli Juli. First n foremost ur gorgeous with a rockin bod so F acne! I seriously think ur gonna have to rethink your rants about being single bc with ur looks, personality, n cooking skills you should get snatched up pretty quick! Second I follow ur blog daily n LOVE IT. Give retin a a try that shit worked! And girl get urself a camera!
Are you taking high dose fish oil? I remember Robb Wolf talking about how a few, not very many, but a few women who take fish oil may break out with acne. He recommended taking a GLA supplement. I had a client I worked with and she had this same problem and I recommended it to her and she said it helped clear it up. It sounds counter intuitive as GLA is an omega 6 but it works. Also I cannot have milk or milk products at all without breaking out in acne. About the only thing I can get away with is ghee and limited amounts of quality butter. This is pretty common with lots of people.
Love the recipes BTW
Juli,
Seriously cut out the nuts. I know how much you love ’em, but the O6 levels you’re consuming is probably causing your acne.
For reals? I eat paleo now, and am addicted to Crossfit (and in way better shape, much more active than I have ever been) and was hoping to see an improvement in my skin…but am probably eating nuts almost every day. My skin actually seems to be a little bit worse, and I never would’ve thought to blame nuts!
Thanks! I am going to take a break from them and see what happens!
I’m a photographer on the side (www.chrissybphotography.com) and absolutely LOVE Canon. I’ve heard great things about the T3i model, but I had the XSi before I upgraded to the 7D and it was AMAZING. If you don’t wanna go all the way to SLR level, there are some really great non-SLRs, like the G12 and S95. But lenses are the key to really great photos on SLR cameras, so if you get one, make sure not to get a cheap lens bc, trust me, they’re worth the investment in the long run. One of my favorite lenses is the 85mm f/1.8 – super sharp photos! The 50mm f/1.8 is by far the best bang for your buck- way cheaper price than other lenses but a GREAT lens!
I TOTALLY know what you mean with the painful acne. I’ve suffered with it for soooo long until the past 8 months. I literally just wash my face with cool water, and if I’m breaking out I use apple cider vinegar (use Bragg’s. it’s gotta be the raw kind!) It’s pretty stinky, and it stings a bit but it works wonders! And if my skin feels kind of clogged, I’ll use baking soda or a cinnamon/nutmeg/honey scrub to get off all the dead skin. Hopefully that helps! Acne is the wooorrrsst.
PS Your blog is amazing, and your recipes make me drool! Cheers!
Wow does this look amazing! Question: Can I substitute almonds (the ones I have are unblanched, or however you say that) for the cashews in this recipe?
Thanks for everything you do to make paleo a realistic option for those of us with a sweet tooth! 🙂
PS: Add my name to the list of people who say to go for it on the camera, but especially the lenses. I take a lot of photos in my work (check out http://www.flickr.com/ucanrow2, would love feedback) and use a Nikon D90 with the best lenses I can afford.
Yes you definitely could Sarah!
This recipe was AWESOME!!!!