Sweet potato, miracle food. What to put ON it?!1

[UTUSN]

So somewhere in teh internets there was a reference to sweet potatos as being the #1 creation ever made for nutrients, with some actor saying he used the "sweet potato diet" to keep the belly flat.

Now, "flatness" and belly don't have any association in my physical continuum, but got me excited about lessening the belly mass.

So Google didn't come up with specifics about any diet centered around sweet potatos, just listed it as one thing among vegetables and fruits with the same old protein sources being ground turkey and chicken.

There WAS a microwave "recipe," paper towel, 5 minutes on one side, 5 minutes on the other. Tried it and it was palatable. And sweet potatos WERE listed as #1 among veggies in fiber and all kinds of vitamins and antioxidents and just about everything.

Now, for years the almost exclusive breakfast has been a Quaker oatmeal square and a banana. So after pondering how to incorporate the sweet potato into my overall consumption, it occurred to me that substituting it for the daily banana was the answer.

O.K., fine. But it's not so much "sweet" as sort of bland, sometimes more "potato." So what to put on it? I just tried salt, then Splenda, and both of them improved things. Yes, I know, but unhealthiness is a FORCE.


Butter (substitute)?!1 What?!1


So the question now is, WHAT to put on it

[Bertha Venation]

1. marshmallows

;)

[zen_bohemian]

2. I cook mine in the oven

They seem to get like carmelized on the inside edges in the oven. when they cool peel and eat. My favorite way to eat them (and this is not nutricious at all) is to get a little orange juice, brown sugar and butter and cook til thick, put on the potatoes, let them cook in the oven for a while then dump little marshmallows on the top of them a couple of minutes before taking them out of the oven.

I have had baked sweet potato at Texas Roadhouse, and they put marshmallows on top, which was good, but they also put butter in them like regular baked potatoes, that kinda grossed me out, just not the same.

[txwhitedove]

3. A smidge of butter and brown sugar.

[Dr Morbius]

17. This post and the one above it are perfect together.

Bake the sweet potatoes, and serve them with butter and brown sugar. They taste fabulous.

Also, one can mash sweet potatoes. As when boiling potatoes, one peels and cuts up the sweet potatoes, but sweet potatoes contain much more liquid than potatoes, so put perhaps an inch of water on the bottom of the pan in which you intend to boil the sweet potatoes - instead of covering the potatoes with water. Before they're done the amount of liquid actually covers the sweet potatoes. Cook until tender, drain, and mash as you would potatoes (with tons of butter and a smidge of milk or cream). Then sprinkle brown sugar on top of the scoop on each plate.

One can deep-fry sweet potatoes too, but serve immediately as they lose crispness quickly.

[Phentex]

4. Butter and a pinch of cinnamon...

yum!

[Kali]

5. fry it in bacon grease and salt heavily

:P

[UTUSN]

6. You hit upon my secret plan!1 n/t

[DebJ]

7. Sweet potato thick fries with honey and nut sauce is great.

[jmm]

27. I love sweet potato fries with malt vinegar. (n/t)

[Sanity Claws]

8. Butter and salt

What kind of sweet potatoes are you using? The ones that are yellow? or the orange variety?

Some supermarkets call the yellow sweet potatoes "sweet potatoes" and the orange ones "yams."

I prefer the yellow ones. You can substitute the yellow ones for regular potatoes in recipes. The orange ones won't work so well; they're a lot moister and sweeter than regular potatoes.

[UTUSN]

11. Orange. Six for a dollar. n/t

[siligut]

24. Best reply here.

The orange ones taste the best :rofl:. Sweet potatoes rank fairly low on the pesticide content scale, and this is why we often see them in the organic section, they are not as susceptible to pests as say apples or peaches, which are some of the highest on the scale. So buying the organic ones may be a waste of money.

Anyway, we like them in pancakes and burritos, but as you are using them as a replacement for your morning banana, well my recipes seem like too much trouble. Here is a link for some super foods: http://www.menshealth.com/mhlists/nutritious_foods_for_a_healthy_body/

My own experience is that cutting out most white foods, like white rice, russet and other white potatoes and white bread is one way to increase your nutritional intake, while decreasing your caloric intake.

[woo me with science]

26. This is the correct answer.

I hate when people defile them with sugar. They have a marvelous, delicate sweetness all their own, and you can't taste that if you put super-sweet sugar on them.

All you need is butter, sweet butter.

[HopeHoops]

9. Frankly, I prefer just fresh-cracked black pepper.

It gives it a similar contrast as when you put pepper on sweet corn. I usually eat it plain but the pepper would be my first choice of additive. Butter is good, but if you're interested in the "health" reasons then it might not be the best choice. I can't stand margarine so I won't recommend that.

[Richardo]

10. 6' of earth

x(

[HopeHoops]

14. No, you only use about 6" of soil to grow them.

[Richardo]

16. That's not enough for a landfill application.

:D

[elleng]

12. I often have one for dinner, plain, simple, delicious.

You could try maple syrup, if you'd like, maybe a squeeze of orange. Enjoy!

[peacefreak]

13. I mash them

with a little milk or butter, cinnamon & freshly grated nutmeg.

[struggle4progress]

15. Pineapple, orange, touch of brown sugar, touch of cinnamon

[Graybeard]

18. Sweet potato pie.

Use pumpkin pie recipe but substitute with taters. A wedge would go nicely with your morning breakfast coffee.

[UTUSN]

20. I feel understood: Easy, simple, and coffee. n/t

[jdp349]

19. Here is a list of of things wrong with your plan

1. You cannot spot reduce bodyfat
2. No food possesses an emergent quality that makes them "healthy"
3. If you're looking to lose weight your diet must adhere to this hierarchy Calories > Macronutrients > Micronutrients
4. 200g sweet potato is 180 calories where as a 100-200g banana is 90 to 180 calories. Therefore adding ANYTHING to the sweet potato violates the hierarchy.

[UTUSN]

21. They key word is "miracle"!1 Ha-HAH!1

Plus, in diabetic nutrition they even cut down banana portions to HALF a banana, like I would do THAT!1 But thanks for giving credence to my discipline, commitment, and comprehension!1

[siligut]

25. Series? Half a banana?

Here there may be an exception to that nutritional advice....cinnamon has actually been shown to reduce blood sugar!1!elevens

[Beaverhausen]

22. slice em like Fries, toss with a little olive oil, salt, pepper and cumin and bake for about 25 min

stir or turn halfway through. Don't need anything else if you ask me. Could probably also do rosemary instead of cumin

[caitxrawks]

23. brown sugar and cinnamon :)

Mmmmmm.