Actress, businesswoman, mother and ambassador Jennifer Garner drew inspiration from an old family recipe for her latest sweet potato blend that will give back to feed hungry children.
Garner joined "Good Morning America" on Giving Tuesday to discuss her new online exclusive product for Once Upon a Farm in partnership with Save the Children that was derived from her grandmother Exie Mae Garner's recipe.
"My grandma Exie always made sweet potato pudding and the flavors just taste like Thanksgiving," she said of the dessert that her family cooks all holiday season long. "I recreated the flavors with Cassandra Curtis, one of our co-founders, but we left out the sugar because we're a no-sugar company."
The seasonal cold-pressed, fruit and veggie blend is made with savory sweet potatoes, silky coconut milk, dates, a touch of vanilla and pumpkin pie spice to taste like pie-in-a-pouch.
For every pouch of Farmer Jen’s Sweet Potato Pie that's purchased from the kid nutrition brand, 25 cents will be donated to the humanitarian organization for children up to $50,000.
Garner said she still spends lots of time on her family's farm in in Locust Grove, Oklahoma with her relatives who have now been folded into the business.
"I grew up with my cousin Brian taking me for rides on this family farm where my mom grew up," she said. "You know when you just have a place that just makes you happy? This farm is that place -- the tractor is my favorite place to be."
Garner has continued to keep it in the family after tapping her aunt and uncle to come work on the farm as well.
"After 40 years of being a plumber I asked Uncle Robert, 'Hey, I have this little company now and we would love if you would come and be a biodynamic organic farmer.' And sure enough, he did, and he's just the best out there. He and Aunt Janet are working the fields and this year we grew sweet potatoes to go into our sweet potato pie."
In her own family amid the pandemic, Garner has helped keep things positive by giving her kids an occasional "yes day" where, within limits, she will say yes to doing fun activities of their choosing.
Now the uplifting concept that she first borrowed from from a children's book, "Yes Day!" by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, has turned into a screenplay, which the actress revealed has already started production.
"We shot the movie. It is coming out next year and I could not be more excited," Garner revealed. "Edgar Ramirez plays my husband, Jenna Ortega and Julian Lerner -- we have the most amazing cast, the best kids. It's just the sweetest most heartfelt fun kind of wish fulfillment movie ever."
The sweet starch is the star ingredient of the specialty flavor and her family's recipe below.
Makes 6-8 servings
Ingredients
4 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and quartered
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups milk
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
3 eggs
Salt
3 tablespoons butter
One 16-ounce bag of mini marshmallows
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Place the sweet potatoes in a large pot of water, cover the pot and bring to a boil. Remove the lid, lower the heat to medium and cook until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork. Drain the potatoes and place them in a large bowl. Using a hand-held electric mixer, break up the potatoes. At low speed add the sugar, milk, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, cloves, eggs, salt to taste, and combine.
Butter a 9-by-13-inch casserole dish and pour in the mixture. Smooth the top and bake until the pudding is set, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Cover the top of the pudding with marshmallows, change the oven temperature to the broil setting and cook until the marshmallows are brown and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes.
Recipe reprinted courtesy of Once Upon a Farm.
