Are Sweet Potatoes a Super Food?

recipe

sweet potato with cutting board and knife

Writing this in the heart of the fall season it feels like prime time for sweet potato recipes. Even though I love all kinds of potatoes, and I encourage you to branch out and try some different varieties, sweet potatoes are much more nutritious than your standard white, yellow & red bliss potatoes. Sweet potatoes & yams have many different types, but I'm going to focus this article on the most common orange sweet potatoes eaten here in the U.S. With rich flavor & packed with nutrition I use sweet potatoes as a super food.

Sweet Potatoes actually belong to the Morning Glory family of vegetables, which is different than your standard potatoes (nightshades). Some of the health benefits associated with sweet potatoes are cardioprotective, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, anti-diabetic, antimicrobial, anti-obesity and more. Lets take a quick look at the specific nutrients found in sweet potatoes that contribute to these amazing benefits!

Nutrition Facts

Fiber Content & Gut Health: because they are a starchy root vegetable sweet potatoes are a good source of fiber, containing both soluble & unsoluble fiber. This contributes to a healthy microbiome. Getting adequate fiber is one of the most simple ways to reduce your risk of chronic diseases, and most Americans don't eat enough. For more information on the microbiome check out my blog article here: https://www.cheftheoryhealth.com/blog/the-mighty-microbiome
Antioxidant: their bright orange color is a sign of being rich in antioxidants, specifically beta-carotene. Antioxidants combat free radicals in the body which can cause DNA damage and trigger systemic inflammation. Beta-carotene is also converted into Vitamin-A in the body. Sweet potatoes are also a good source of Vitamin-C which also acts as an antioxidant in the body.
Potassium: this mineral is a key electrolyte than contributes to controlling healthy blood pressure.
Vitamin B6: plays a key role in your body converting food into energy

Recipes & Cooking Tips:

I love cooking with sweet potatoes. Their naturally sweet flavor lend themselves to a multitiude of uses in the kitchen. Interestingly, how you cook sweet potatoes can actually affect the nutrition level. It turns out that boiling sweet potatoes is actually the most nutritious method because it lowers the Glycemic Load, which measures how it affects your blood sugar. However, don't let this deter you from occasionally simple baking a sweet potato to use as a side dish for dinner.

Baking sweet potatoes is the easiest way to cook them and takes about an hour in the oven depending on the size. They go great with roasted pork and chicken dishes.
Peeling, chopping and boiling until for tender is my second method of cooking. Once cooked like this they can be eaten immediately or saved for future dishes. I like to cook them up with some garlic, grass fed butter and fresh herbs or use them in place of potatoes in a breakfast scramble.
My third method of cooking is mashed sweet potatoes, where you again peel, chop & boil until very tender. Once mashed they can be used as a side dish or saved to use in some healthy desserts such as pie & brownies (see below!)
My last cooking method is using them in soups. The recipe I have below features them as the main ingredient and is pureed. But I also like to chop them and use them in place of regular potatoes in soups like a sausage & kale tuscan style soup.
Frying sweet potatoes & using them in sugar laden recipes is also common, but this moves them to the unhealthy category. I only enjoy them like this on rare occasions.