When you go grain-free, you are basically telling the world you won’t be eating cereal anymore; save a few granolas out there. You’re resigning to eating something else out of your breakfast bowl. Here’s a cereal bowl that’s gotten a major upgrade. This bowl is rich with warm sweet potatoes, crunchy from toasted nuts and seeds, and it pops sweet and fresh with pomegranates and blueberries. Best of all though, it won’t send you on a sugar high that has you crashing back to earth shortly after eating. Instead, this sweet potato ceral bowel will leave you fully satisfied!

Sweet potatoes

4 tablespoons butter, ghee or cooking oil of choice (use cooking oil for vegan)
2 medium sweet potatoes, diced

For the bowl
1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
4 tablespoons hemp seeds
1pint blueberries
1 banana
1⁄2 cup pomegranate seeds
1-2 cups of milk of choice for serving (see note below)

Tahini-date sauce
2 tablespoons tahini
1 tablespoon date syrup

Heat butter, ghee or oil in a medium sauté pan over medium-high heat. Once butter melts or oil is hot, add diced sweet potatoes and cook until sweet potatoes start to soften and brown, about 5 minutes. Pour 2 cups of water over the sweet potatoes and bring to a simmer. Cook sweet potatoes at a simmer for 12-14 minutes until most of the liquid is absorbed or cooked off and sweet potatoes are soft.

While sweet potatoes are cooking, toast walnuts by adding them to a dry sauté́pan and heating over medium-high heat for about 7 minutes, tossing and stirring regularly. Once toasted, place in a bowl and stir in hemp seeds.

Slicebananaandremovepomegranateseedsfromflesh (cut along the equator of the fruit and hit the rind with a wooden spoon to release seeds into a bowl).

Vigorously stir tahini and date syrup together in a small bowl to make the sauce.

To build your bowl, add prepared ingredients in this order: sweet potatoes, walnuts and hemp seeds, blueberries, banana, tahini-date sauce and pomegranate seeds. Pour milk of your choice over top and serve immediately.

MILK
If you have yet to find a milk alternative on market shelves that suits you, try making a milk alternative at home. Tahini and hemp milk are quick options because they don’t require soaking. Just combine 1 cup of hemp seeds or 1⁄2 cup of tahini with 4 cups of water and blend in a high-speed blender until no large bits remain. Use straight from the blender, or strain if you don’t want any graininess. Seal any extra in a container and store in the fridge for up to a week.

SMORGASBOWL – Recipes and techniques for creating satisfying meals with endless variation – By Caryn Carruthers