1.8 billion pounds. 

That’s how many sweet potatoes were grown last year by the major U.S. sweet potato-producing states, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. North Carolina led the way with 874 million pounds, followed by California (437 million pounds) and Mississippi (335 million pounds). 

We’ve increased our consumption of the healthful orange tuber over the years. In 1999, the average American consumed 3.7 pounds of sweet potatoes. Last year, we averaged 5.1 pounds per person, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service. 

We really should eat more. Sweet potatoes are a nutritional powerhouse. A half-cup serving contains only 90 calories, with no fat or cholesterol and only 35 mg sodium. This serving size delivers 3 g fiber, 2 g protein, 380% of your daily vitamin A requirement and 35% of your daily vitamin C requirement.

With Thanksgiving fast approaching, I’ll focus on sweet potatoes over the next few days. Check out Bargain of the Week for shopping and preparation tips. In addition to the recipes already available on our organic blog (listed below), I’ll add some new ones for culinary inspiration.

Recipes for Your Thanksgiving Table

• Sweet Potato Toppers
• Sweet Potato and Spiced Pecan Soup with Chive Chantilly
• Grilled Sweet Potato Steaks with Maple Pecan Butter
• Sweet Potato Bake
• Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Cinnamon Pecan Crunch
• Mashed Sweet Potatoes and Apples with Pecan Streusel Topping
• Curried Sweet Potato
• Roasted Vegetable Medley
• Sweet Potato Biscuits
• Organic Sweet Potato Custard
• Sweet Potato Bundt Cake
• Organic Turkey Sandwiches (with Thanksgiving leftovers) 

Year-Round Treats

• Sweet Potato Pie Smoothies
• Kootu Curry
• Cinnamon Beef Tagine

Photo courtesy of the North Carolina SweetPotato Commission

Americans have expanded their Thanksgiving repertoire in recent years. While many of us have fond childhood memories of the classic Sweet Potato Bake studded with miniature marshmallows, our adult tastes now run more toward organic Mashed Sweet Potatoes and Apples with Pecan Streusel Topping or Curried Sweet Potato.

In recent years, winter squash has replaced sweet potatoes on many Thanksgiving tables. The two are interchangeable in many recipes (see Candied Butternut Squash and Butternut Squash Soup with Sage), and both veggies contain high levels of cancer-fighting carotenoids.

The beauty of winter squash is its many varieties, flavors and preparations. Registered dietitian Karen Collins, nutrition adviser for the American Institute for Cancer Research, offers the following tips:

• Acorn squash is small, with a very hard rind. Your best bet is to cut it in half and bake it, without peeling it. Season with pumpkin-pie spices like cinnamon and nutmeg.
• Butternut squash is sweet and moist, with a slightly nutty flavor. The skin is easy to peel, and you can roast cubes or add chunks to a soup or stew.
• Buttercup squash has a sweet flavor, but it can be dry. Use it in moist dishes to avoid drowning it in butter.
• Large squashes (like Hubbard) are also delicious and will provide lots of leftovers. Use what you need now, and freeze cooked cubes or purée.
• Spaghetti squash is a little lower in calories, fiber, and nutrients like vitamin C and potassium. Its preparation is unique, as strands of cooked squash are pulled from the flesh with a fork. As the name implies, it’s often served like pasta.

Photo:

Virtually every supermarket and natural/organic food store is now offering sweet Thanksgiving deals on holiday sweet potatoes, including organic varieties. 

My shopping trips have revealed mixed results. Some of the sweet potatoes have been blemish-free beauties, while others were moldy mounds. 

When shopping for sweet potatoes, look for firmness, dark coloring and a smooth texture. Head to another market if the selection sports wrinkles, bruises, sprouts or decay. (Even if you cut away the decay, the flavor will be rank.) 

Maintain freshness by storing fresh sweet potatoes in a dry, cool (55°F to 60°F) place, such as a cellar, pantry or garage. Do not store them in the refrigerator; they’ll develop a hard core and unpleasant taste. 

Stored properly, sweet potatoes will keep for roughly 30 days. If you’re going to store them at room temperature, they’ll last about a week. 

Never wash sweet potatoes until you’re about to cook them. Excess moisture promotes spoilage. When you’re ready to cook, wash them thoroughly. Whenever possible, leave the skins on, as they contain most of the vegetable’s nutrients. 

Sweet potatoes with dark-orange flesh are moister, while those with lighter skins and yellow flesh are decidedly less sweet and plump. Yellow-fleshed sweet potatoes also require a longer cook time. Avoid mixing the two varieties when cooking, as you’ll encounter textural differences and uneven doneness.

Photo courtesy of the Louisiana Sweet Potato Commission

GE’s created an Organic Light-Emitting Diode, or OLED, Christmas tree. Basically it’s a 15-foot strip of 6-inch wide OLED panels, coiled up to make a tree shape.

It’s nifty, but the real Christmas miracle is how it works.

Now, I’m no gadget expert, but apparently OLED technology is very green. According to Wikipedia, when a film of electroluminescent organic compounds are combined with a polymer substance they emit light, which can used to make screens for things like cell phones and PDAs.

Ouch, my heard hurts!

But yeah, it’s way cooler than a cardboard tree or the brussel tree.

Via Gadget Lab.

Yesterday we saw the space-saving, eco-conscious recycled cardboard tree. Sure, a great idea. But you can’t eat it!

That’s why the brussel tree rocks. As in, rocking around the Christmas tree!

And just think, after Christmas it makes the perfect guilt-free holiday snack, perfect for that New Year’s resolution.

Via SeriousEats.

In the past, I’ve reviewed different brands of organic eggnog, including Horizon Organic Lowfat Eggnog and Clover Organic Eggnog. Both are delicious and rich, but they’re dairy products.

If you avoid milk, there’s a new kid on the block: Vitasoy Holly Nog, which is lactose-, gluten-, cholesterol- and dairy-free.

Holly Nog has a fraction of the fat of traditional dairy eggnog, but it’s a nice holiday treat. Spiced and naturally flavored, it’s a creamy, smooth drink with a balance of cinnamon and nutmeg notes—and only 120 calories per 8-oz. serving (and 4 grams of soy protein).

Enjoy the recipe we posted last year for Spiced Coffee Eggnog. Have a safe holiday!

A century ago, Americans didn’t have to worry about going organic. It was de rigueur, with no processed, genetically modified or chemically laced foods to cause concern. Everything on the menu was natural.

So, how does your organic holiday table measure up against a typical farmstead menu from 1900?

“At Christmas, meats were often pulled from the smoker because hunting for fresh game was more difficult in the snow and cold,” says George Gross, director of Delaware Valley College’s Roth Living Farm Museum in North Wales, Pennsylvania. “Or one of the youngest children might be asked to kill a goose or one of the farm’s chickens that had stopped laying eggs.”

You wouldn’t find ham or pork on the menu, as they were “daily breakfast staples and were not considered fancy,” Gross says.

All kitchen preparations fell to the women. (Has anything changed in your home?) Wives and daughters would clean and dress their holiday deer or rabbit, while boiling and feathering a Christmas chicken or goose. (Feathers were saved for pillows.) Meats were roasted on an open hearth or the oven of a wood stove. Stovetop cooking featured vegetables from the family root cellar: turnips, parsnips, squash and potatoes, most of which were mashed with fresh butter and cream from family cows. Fresh bread was baked earlier in the day.

Desserts were simple, usually a tart made from canned fruit preserved earlier and pie crust rolled and baked that day. As for beverages, families started preparing homemade root beer several weeks before Christmas.

“Folks believed that root beer was an excellent drink for them, thinking the roots killed bacteria in the drinking water, thus making it safer to drink than water,” Gross says. “They hadn’t realized that it was the boiling process that was doing the trick. Had they wanted to drink safer water, they only needed to boil it.”

It took a full day—sometimes longer—to clean, boil and store the assorted roots used for this holiday drink, followed by two weeks of fermenting.

Women would break out their best dinnerware, flatware and glassware, lighting candles for illumination—not atmosphere. And with no refrigeration, meals were carefully planned for only one supper, with no holiday leftovers to enjoy the next day.

If you have a chance to visit Pennsylvania, be sure to stop by the Roth Museum, where Gross tends its 140 acres, a dairy cow, two dairy goats, six sheep and three horses. Depending on the season, you can view sheep-shearing, milking, plowing and planting demonstrations, and antique equipment displays, as well as participate in hands-on activities. Click here for a list of seasonal events.

As for this weekend, enjoy your much-more-modern Christmas dinner!

Mary Micucci is one of the most famous caterers in Los Angeles, specializing in large events like Hollywood movie premieres. She launched Along Came Mary in 1975, working out of a Volkswagen Bug. Today, she runs a $10 million business as the largest gourmet catering company in the entertainment industry. The “Hollywood Reporter” even dubbed her the “epicurean Steven Spielberg.”

When entertaining for Christmas, “think themes,” says Micucci. “Try snowmen, reindeer or toy soldiers carried out in the decor or cut out as cookies, with fun decorations and celebratory desserts.”

Here’s Micucci’s recipe for wassail, a traditional Christmas punch, which she made for last year’s star-studded premiere of “Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events.” You should have no trouble finding organic ingredients at your local whole or natural foods store.

Wassail

1 gallon apple cider
1 quart pineapple juice
1 quart fresh orange juice
2 cups light brown sugar
1 teaspoon whole nutmeg, grated
10 to 18 whole cinnamon sticks
3 whole oranges, cut in half
25 whole cloves
8 stemmed Irish coffee mugs

1. In a large saucepot on low, heat apple cider, juice and sugar. Bring to a rapid boil while adding 10 cinnamon sticks and grated nutmeg. Simmer for 15 minutes.
2. Stick cloves into the skins of the 4 orange halves, placing them in even, linear rows. Turn off heat and add cloved oranges. Allow flavors to expand within the mix for 15 minutes.
3. Using a peeler, zest 8 orange strands (4” each) from the third orange and set aside.
4. Reheat mixture and pour into decorative coffee glasses. Garnish each glass with whole cinnamon, with orange strands twisted around it. Serve hot.

Cheers from everyone at Organic Authority!