This week, in Saturday Sidebar, our World Moms share their favorite sweet potato recipes for a cause.

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ONE is a grassroots advocacy and campaigning organization that fights extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa, by raising public awareness and pressuring political leaders to support smart and effective policies and programs that are saving lives, helping to put kids in school and improving futures. Cofounded by Bono and other campaigners, ONE is nonpartisan and works closely with African activists and policy makers.

Backed by over 3 million ONE members, ONE achieves change through advocacy.

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Also, you can follow their trip this week to Ethiopia with the hashtag #ONEMoms on twitter. More to come this week on that trip!

So, now what does Sweet Potatoes have to do with ONE Moms and World Moms Blog?

Malnutrition claims the lives of well over three million children a year. Sweet potatoes have the power to provide much-needed nutrients like vitamins C, A and B6 to undernourished children, helping to avert stunting and ensuring proper growth. On top of that, sweet potatoes are relatively cheap to produce and easy to grow in uncertain conditions, perfect for regions prone to drought and famine. ONE members signed the petition urging world leaders to reduce chronic child malnutrition for 25 million children by 2016.

This Saturday, the World Moms chimed in with how they do it at their home. Check out some of the recipes from around the world.

Sweet potato dish prepared by Susie Newday of Israel

Sweet potato dish prepared by Susie Newday of Israel

Susie Newday of Israel writes:
The link to a mouthwatering sweet potato dish which can be eaten hot or cold is here.”

Ana Gaby@Stumble Abroad of Indonesia writes:
“We love to slice the potatoes and bake them. The resulting texture is very unique, crunchy but soft, yum!!! I use the recipe which is available here. This salsa is just amazing, too! Tangy and a bit spicy perfect to counteract with the sweetness of the SP!”

Carol @ If By Yes of British Columbia, Canada writes:
“My mother’s sweet potato casserole. I make it every thanksgiving and former roommates call me for the recipe. Its mashed sweet potatoes with cinnamon, egg, and butter baked in a casserole dish covered in a walnut and brown sugar topping. So delicious!”

Jenna Farelyn of North Carolina, USA writes:
“Vanilla Sweet Potato Soufflé: 4 cups boiled sweet potatoes, 1 cup sugar, 3 eggs, 1 Tablespoon vanilla, 1/3 cup butter. Mix together. Pour into buttered 1 quart dish, Bake 30 minutes at 350. (Optional topping: 1/3 cup butter, 1 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup flour, 1 cup chopped pecans. Mix topping ingredients together and sprinkle over top of soufflé. With topping, cooking time remains same: 30 minutes at 350)”

Jennifer Burden of New Jersey, USA writes:
“I once read “Guns, Germs and Steel” by Jared Diamond and remember he talked about how replacing the white potato with the sweet potato in the Amazon made a big difference because something like the sweet potato has all but one amino acid that we need to survive and it also has more vitamins. So, the switch was making a big difference to the health of the people who were living off of them. Here’s a tip that I got from my friend Darlene. Microwave a sweet potato until it gets soft — say 3-5 minutes depending on its size. Slice it in half in the middle, with the two ends on either side. Let it cool, and she would give it to her kids as a snack that they could squeeze out of the skin!”

JPrestholdt of Minnesota, USA writes:
“I grew up in Louisiana, where sweet potatoes are a regular part of the diet. Here is a recipe for Sweet Potato Pones (a kind of bread): 4 large sweet potatoes, 2 eggs, 1 cup milk, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup molasses, 1/2 cup butter, 1/2 tsp each of nutmeg, cinnamon and ground cloves, 1 lemon rind (grated), 1/2 orange rind (grated). Grate raw potatoes, lemon and orange. Beat eggs and sugar, then add everything together. Pour into greased baking dish and bake for one hour in 325-350 degree oven. Cut and serve hot or cold.”

MamaMzunga of Kenya writes:
“Sweet potato and black bean quesadillas were a stable when we lived in the US. Just sauté some onions and garlic and season with cumin. Shred 1 large sweet potato and add to the mixture with 1-2 cans of black beans. This is the filling. To make the quesadilla, just lightly oil or butter a pan, place a tortilla and then top with a layer of shredded cheese (Monterrey jack or cheddar), the mixture, another layer of cheese and then another tortilla. Flip carefully to heat on other side. Remove and enjoy with salsa or sour cream. Yum.

We live in an area in which one of the sweet potato campaigns is happening (Western Kenya, Nyanza province). I have yet to see an orange sweet potato (you can buy a “sweet potato” but its whitish inside and not all that sweet or nutritious), but can imagine it going over quite well. A very popular potato is the “Irish” potato, and that is not indigenous, so I can imagine (and hope) that this will take off as well. You’d be surprised at the food that’s not indigenous but that people take too. E.g. Before the discovery of the “new world” Italians knew not the tomato!!

I wrote a sweet potato recipe on my blog.”

Maman Aya of New York, USA writes:
“You know what we are all referring to as sweet potatoes (the orange flesh Ina reddish/brown skin) is actually called a yam? We have them several times a week in our house, but the kids’ favorite is a casserole, where I alternate slices of yam and apple. Sprinkle cinnamon over the entire thing, put a few pats of butter around it and put it in the oven. Bake at 350 F degrees (around 175 C) for about half an hour until it is cooked through. It’s so yummy!”

Purnima of India writes:

Cook the sweet potato, make small pieces and roast them in clarified butter. Add it to boiled milk and soak them. Soak cashew and almonds for four hours and make a fine paste of them. Add saffron, cardamom and sugar to this fine paste and mix in the soaked sweet potatoes in milk. Serve it hot. It is a sweet dish eaten hot (temperature).

Polish Mom Photographer of California, USA writes:
“I follow a recipe from this site here. They are great as a side dish or a main dish with a slice of French bread”

What about you? If you have a mouth-watering sweet potato recipe, share it with us as a comment to this post.

And do you have a question you would like to pose to our WMB writers?  If so, email us at wmbsidebareditor@gmail.com to see what they have to say.

– World Moms Blog

The Saturday Sidebar has been compiled and edited by our World Mom, Purnima of India.

Photo credit to World Mom Susie from Israel.

World Moms Blog

World Moms Blog is an award winning website which writes from over 30 countries on the topics of motherhood, culture, human rights and social good. Over 70 international contributors share their stories from around the globe, bonded by the common thread of motherhood and wanting a better world for their children. World Moms Blog was listed by Forbes Woman as one of the "Best 100 Websites for Women 2012 & 2013" and also called a "must read" by the NY Times Motherlode in 2013. Our Senior Editor in India, Purnima Ramakrishnan, was awarded the BlogHer International Activist Award in 2013.

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