Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Garlic Sauce

Drum roll, please. I lost five pounds this week. This is unheard of for me in the fifth week of any weight loss program. I nearly fell off the scale this morning. From the beginning, I have rid myself of 26 unwanted pounds! Woooooohoooo!

I recently changed up my routine. I am doing less machine exercise and more classes like Step Aerobics and Zumba. That probably is the reason for the bigger drop this week!

I know, a lot of people would say you are going too fast. Quite honestly, I have never lost weight fast in my life. I am not a fad dieter. I am simply willing and able to put the time in to do the work and it is paying off! I am not starving either. I eat about 1600 calories a day, give or take 100. Which actually is pretty much on target with a Weight Watchers suggestion for my weight and level of activity.

The bottom line is that everyone has to find their own way of doing things. EVERYONE has advice for weight loss. That's good, I like to hear it, but I have learned recently to trust my judgement and expertise about what I like and what my body can do.

Now on to the food. I make sweet potato fries often, I love them. When I make them, I always put oregano and garlic powder on them. There is something about the flavors together that I really like. When I decided to do sweet potato gnocchi, I had to add these other components.

Gnocchi can be a bit tricky getting the dough right but once you have that down you can whip these babies up very quickly. They are one easy pasta to make!

First start with the dough. Do not go by the recipe as much as you should be going by the feel of the dough. You want a dough that is not sticky but not hard either. You want it to be smooth, supple and tender.
Depending on how much you have, divide it into workable amounts. Squeeze it into a long tube and roll it. Cut it into small pieces, about the size of a nickel. Take a fork and run the tines of the fork over the piece of the dough in one swift swoop. You should end up with a piece that is oblong, with markings on the side and a dent in the middle. This will serve you well later when it holds the sauce for you. Yum!
Those happy little pieces of dough, get placed on a flour sheet or plate so you can transport them to the boiling water.

SWEET POTATO GNOCCHI with Garlic Sauce

12 ounces sweet potato (I passed them through a ricer)
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg, slightly beaten

Pass the sweet potato through a ricer or mash thoroughly. Add the salt and egg, combine. Add the flour a half of a cup at a time. Adding less towards the end. Take it out of the bowl and knead a little. Let it rest for fifteen minutes.

This recipe made about 89 gnocchi, 13.37 calories per gnocchi.


Garlic Sauce

1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1 teaspoon oregano
s and p to taste
12 garlic cloves, roasted
1 cup skim milk

Peel garlic and wrap in aluminum foil. Toast in oven at 425F until golden. Saute onions in butter until softened. Add flour and stir often until flour becomes toasted, turning a light brown color. Add the milk, stirring often to incorporate the milk into the flour mixture. Add oregano, s and p. Mash the roasted garlic with a little salt, into a paste. Add to the milky mixture.

210 calories for entire recipe. We divided it into four.