There's one food out there that's considered a "super food" which can be used to fight weight gain, belly fat, and diabetes: sweet potatoes. Many people are surprised to learn that the sweet potato is a healthy food to be added to any meal and can help anyone keep a healthy weight and get their daily vitamins and fiber.
Nationally recognized menopause specialist Dr. Diana Bitner from Spectrum Health, shows off a couple different ways to cook sweet potatoes so they can be incorporated into any meal.
The starting ingredient is the sweet potato of whatever color, and it can be roasted, boiled, or steamed. The vitamins are best preserved when steamed, but usually for ease, roasting or baking is the easiest.
The sweet potatoes simply are washed and put on a cookie sheet, with holes poked in the skin with a fork (to avoid explosions) for an hour at 350 degrees. Once they are cooled, they can be used in a variety of ways to make satisfying and tasty recipes.
Breakfast- Sweet Potato Hash
- 1 onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Greens (spinach or swiss chard)
- Sweet Potato
- Meat (optional)
Directions:
- In a large skillet, cook the garlic and onion in olive oil until it's soft and slightly carmelized. Then if desired, add the optional meat until cooked.
- Add cubes of sweet potato to cook until warmed through, followed by greens.
- Cover the mixture with a lid to allow them to wilt and warm, then serve.
- If desired, cook eggs sunny side up and place them on top of the has. Adding maple syrup around the edge of the plate can make this a tasty treat to mix in.
Sweet Potato Snack
For snack, a quick healthy treat can be a sweet potato massed with a fork, covered with 1-2 tablespoons of real maple syrup, cut nuts such as walnuts, almonds, or pecans, and then warmed in the microwave.
Lunch- Nutty Sweet Potatoes
For lunch, cubed sweet potato warmed in the microwave covered with a little bit of olive oil and tossed with salad greens and a protein is very tasty, filling, and helps avoid sugar spikes.
Dinner- Sweet Potato Fries
Cut the sweet potatoes in whatever shape works for fries, then place them on a cookie sheet with olive oil and salts. Bake it at 400 degrees until brown, which usually takes around 20-30 minutes.
Dessert- Sweet Potato Pie
Mash sweet potatoes and add an egg, almond or dairy milk, maple syrup, and spices like cinnamon, ground ginger, cloves and nutmeg. It can be one bigger dish or smaller baking dishes, placed in a pan with water to give even cooking at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
Dr. Bitner's office is located at 3800 Lake Michigan Drive Northwest, Suite A. To schedule an appointment with her, call (616)-267-8225.
All information was provided by Dr. Diana Bitner, her blog. Read more.
