Happy New Year! Who’s ready to make the most out of this shiny blank slate? This is the year to find your bliss and celebrate it every single day! I wrote about what makes me happy in this post, and what I’m going to do to try and make the world a happier and kinder place in 2017. However, I forgot to include a crucial component to making my goals come to fruition, first, I have to make sure that I’m happy. Because when mama’s not happy, nobody is. I bet that’s true for you as well.
Maintaining my bliss/ happiness, is always predicated on what I eat and how much I exercise. When my body feels good, my mood is good. That’s why when I was asked to review Ashley Melillo’s new cookbook, Blissful Basil, I jumped on it.
Ashley, a school psychologist and vegan recipe developer extraordinaire, understands the link between happiness and eating clean and healthy food. That’s why she wrote Blissful Basil, a gorgeous cookbook with Over 100 Plant-Powered Recipes To Unearth Vibrancy, Health & Happiness.
When I received Blissful Basil I dove right in and didn’t come up for air until I was finished. Ashley’s story is so inspirational. She candidly shares how she overcame debilitating anxiety through exercise and eating a vibrant plant-based diet. As I paged through her book, the colorful dishes made me feel calm and happy, just from looking at the pictures!
Ashley’s recipes are delicious. I’ve tried several, and every one of them was easy, healthy, and fabulous. The recipe I chose to share with you today is her Swift Sweet Potato Coconut Curry, because I’ve become obsessed with the medicinal properties of turmeric, and, who doesn’t like a hearty and comforting bowl of curried sweet potatoes?
This sweet potato coconut curry recipe is everything you’d imagine it to be. It’s savory, earthy, creamy, and satisfying. Best of all, it’s so easy to make. If you can dice potatoes and onions, and bring water and coconut milk to a boil, then you can make this. It may look complicated because it’s so pretty, but it’s not, and that’s the beauty of Ashley’s recipes, they’re simple and delicious.
Here are pictures of a couple more recipes from the book that I think you’ll enjoy.
Bright Morning Citrus Salad with Herbed Syrup and Herb Cashew Cheese Plate with Spicy Tomato Jam + Roasted Garlic
Blissful Basil is one of those cookbooks that will motivate you to honor your bliss. Reading about Ashley’s struggles to overcome anxiety made me think about how much exercise and eating healthy keeps me in a good emotional state. Creating healthy recipes and sharing them with you is one of the biggest ways that I honor my bliss, because helping people to be the best that they can be is important to me, and it makes me happy. It’s also important to Alex, that’s why she’s pursuing her Master’s in Clinical Psychology, and why we started our blog.
Another thing that makes me happy is volunteering. This year I’m going to do a lot more of that at my local no-kill shelter. I may end up bringing home another dog, but that would just add to our family’s bliss, right?
What do you do to honor your bliss? I’d love to hear from you.
Make sure you scroll down to enter the giveaway! One lucky winner will receive a copy of Blissful Basil, hopefully it will be you so you can try all of Ashley’s delicious recipes.
Let’s connect! Hop on over to our Facebook page and give it a like, and follow us on Instagram and Twitter, and follow us and share this and other Veganosity recipes on Pinterest. We’d be so grateful if you did. If you like this recipe and can’t wait to see what we’re going to share next, subscribe to Veganosity. Just fill in the subscription box above our picture in the top right corner of the page. And, Alex and I love hearing from you, please leave a comment and let us know what you think of our recipes.
Click Here For Full Nutrition, Exchanges, and My Plate Info
Serves Approximately 1 1/2 cups
A savor, earthy, healthy, delicious sweet potato coconut curry recipe that the entire family will love.
1 hrCook Time
1 hrTotal Time
Save RecipeIngredients
- 1 tablespoon curry powder
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/8 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 medium yellow onion, finely diced (about 1 cup)
- 1 cup filtered water, divided
- 1 (14 ounce) can full-fat coconut milk
- 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into ½-inch cubes (about 4 cups)
- 3 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced
- 1/3 cup raisins (optional)
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro, stemmed and chopped
- 4 cups cooked brown rice or quinoa, for serving (optional)*
- 1 lime, cut into wedges, for spritzing (optional)
Instructions
- Toast the curry powder, sea salt, coriander, ginger, and turmeric in a medium stockpot over medium heat for 30 seconds, stirring constantly.
- Add the yellow onion and 1/3 cup of the water, and cook for 5 minutes, or until the onion is soft and translucent, stirring frequently.
- Whisk in the coconut milk and the remaining 2/3 cup water, and bring to a boil.
- Add the sweet potatoes, decrease the heat to medium-low, cover, and rapidly simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are fork-tender, stirring occasionally.
- Stir in the scallions, raisins (if using), and cilantro, and continue to simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes begin to break down into the sauce, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat.
- Spoon the curry into bowls and serve with warm brown rice and lime wedges, if desired.
Notes
No Grains? No Problem – To keep this grain-free, opt for quinoa, a grain-like seed, instead of brown rice.
Reprinted from Blissful Basil by arrangement with BenBella Books. Copyright © 2016, Ashley Melillo.
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