Blackberry Muffin Sweet Potato Pudding Parfait

I love the Thanksgiving/Christmas season when Costco stocks those huge bags of organic sweet potatoes, which turn into so many wonderful sweet potato experiments. This particular sweet potato incarnation resulted when I decided that my nine-month old was tired of all of her baby food options, as she launched the "banana beet blueberry" mush pouch at me for the eighth time.  "What could I make..." I mused as I wiped pink goo off my baby-battered forehead,  "that would be new and delicious but still meet those high baby food standards (which should be all people-food standards, really) of not being sugar, fat, and salt-laden? She's never had a muffin, I suppose..."  So I pulled out all of the odds and ends in the fridge to make these surprisingly moist and just-sweet enough muffins. To entice my three-year-old to eat them, late last night I concocted this sweet potato "frosting," which I then decided would make for a delightful parfait!  I looked forward to this morning, when Emie devoured her muffin, Abiline took delicate frosting-laced nibbles of hers, and I indulged in breakfast pudding parfait.  All were satisfied.  For the time being.  Until I offer another muffin to Emie, and she launches it at my head.

 For the Blackberry Banana Muffins:

1 medium, ripe banana
1/2 cup fresh blackberries
1/2 pouch banana-beet-blueberry baby food (or sub another 1/2 cup blackberries)
1/2 cup rice milk
1/2 cup coconut cream (from the top of the canned coconut milk)
scant 1/4 tsp. stevia powder
2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup buckwheat flour

Preheat the oven to 350 and line muffin cups. I got 12 mini muffins and 6 regular-sized muffins out of this recipe.  In a food processor or blender, blend the banana, blackberries, baby food, rice milk, coconut cream, stevia, vanilla, salt, and baking powder until smooth. Add the oats and process again until totally ground up. Then add buckwheat flour and pulse just until combined. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tins until the cups are about 2/3-3/4 full and bake in the preheated oven, about 14 minutes for mini muffins and 20-22 minutes for standard-sized muffins, turning the pans half-way through the baking time. Let cool on wire racks before eating. I think they tasted best after sitting overnight in the fridge. Enjoy frosted with sweet potato pudding, or crumble into a parfait glass, alternating layers with the pudding and blackberries and/or bananas.

For the Sweet Potato Pudding/Frosting:

1 large sweet potato
1 medium banana
1/2 Tbsp. vanilla
1/4 cup shelled hemp seeds
2 Tbsp. coconut oil (I did not melt it.)
1-2 Tbsp. maple syrup

1. Bake the sweet potato at 400 degrees for about an hour, until very soft when poked with a fork. Remove the peel.
2. In a blender or food processor, combine the sweet potato flesh, banana, vanilla, hemp seeds, coconut oil, and 1 Tbsp. maple syrup. Blend until totally smooth. Taste, and if you want it a tad sweeter, add some additional maple syrup.

Here is the adorable culprit of meal-time mayhem, along with her cronies:

If you are wondering what on earth my kids are doing in this picture, I must tell you that I was pretty tickled that afternoon when they decided that the most enchanting activity was to build with staples. They made a city, train tracks, and "the longest bench in the world," while I was left wondering why I had spent so much money on toys for Christmas. Move over Legos...

This recipe is linked to Allergy-Free Wednesdays and Wellness Weekend.