Right now we’re seeing everyone baking cookies and sweet treats, but in my opinion, now is not the time to be on the banana bread bandwagon. We should be looking for foods that support immunity, nourish our bodies, and don’t spike our blood sugar. If you’re craving a starchy food, look to the sweet potato. It’s a carbohydrate, yes, but it’s naturally loaded with vitamins A, B, and C; copper; potassium; and fiber.
I like switching up my sweet potato varieties because they each have slightly different tastes and nutrient profiles. The purple potatoes are higher in antioxidants and vitamin C, while sweet potatoes are high in beta-carotene.
Here, five easy and unexpected ways to use sweet potatoes to round out any meal:
Purple Sweet Potato Baked
Slice a purple sweet potato in half lengthwise and bake it at 350ºF for 40 minutes. When it comes out, drizzle it with nut butter for healthy fat, applesauce, and pomegranate seeds to add additional fiber and a sweet crunch.
Sweet Potato “Chips”
Slice a sweet potato into horizontal “discs” about a half an inch thick. Coat with olive oil, add thyme and rosemary, and lightly sprinkle with salt. Roast for about 40 minutes (or until you reach your desired crispness). Serve them with a homemade sour cream and onion dip made from grass-fed Greek yogurt, sautéed onions, and spinach, with a pinch of sea salt and onion powder.
Cinnamon Japanese “Satsumaimo” Potatoes
These potatoes have a reddish skin with a white inside that’s naturally super sweet. Dice them into “chunks,” coat with coconut oil, and sprinkle with cinnamon. Roast them at 400ºF for about 40 minutes. They’re healthy enough to be dinner when paired with a simple white fish or a flavorful chicken—and they’ll satisfy all your sweet cravings.
Loaded Baked Sweet Potato
Bake a sweet potato at 400ºF for 40 minutes. While the potato is baking, dice half an onion and sauté on a skillet with EVOO, until onions are slightly caramelized. Add in a quarter of a cup of black beans and mix it all together. When the sweet potato is baked, slice it in half lengthwise and “stuff” with black bean and onion mix. Finish with a dollop of grass-fed Greek yogurt and sprinkle of paprika and sea salt.
Mashed Purple Sweet Potato
This recipe requires three ingredients: purple potato, ghee, and grass-fed Greek yogurt. Poke a hole in it and bake the potato at 400ºF for about an hour. Once cooled, slice it open and scrape the contents into a bowl (do this while potato is still hot!). Add 1 tablespoon of ghee and mash it together. Top with 2 tablespoons of plain grass-fed Greek yogurt and enjoy it with any grass-fed meat or pasture-raised chicken and greens.
reshared from mindbodygreen.com