I've started off today with more decaf coffee (routines can be rewarding). I will share an observation: sweet potatoes are awesome, but they must be cooked well. By well, I mean it took 1.5 hours baking to attain the perfect texture and softness. They were huge potatoes but man, were they worth it. I could feel my fiber and Vitamin count shoot to the sky when I had finished them. Cooking tip: wash off the potatoes, sit them on an aluminum foil lined pan in the middle of the oven and let them bake at 400. No poking, slicing or basting required--just heat. You know they are done when you can see the natural sugars oozing from the end and smell the slightest burning of the sugar. Sweet.
Just an FYI: the differences between a sweet potato and yam: Sweet Potato vs. Yam
Care of Wikipedia (of course) :)
Besides simple starches, sweet potatoes are rich in complex carbohydrates, dietary fiber, beta carotene (a vitamin A equivalent nutrient), vitamin C, and vitamin B6. Pink, yellow and green varieties are high in carotene, the precursor of vitamin A.
In 1992, the Center for Science in the Public Interest compared the nutritional value of sweet potatoes to other vegetables. Considering fiber content, complex carbohydrates, protein, vitamins A and C, iron, and calcium, the sweet potato ranked highest in nutritional value. According to these criteria, sweet potatoes earned 184 points, 100 points over the next on the list, the common potato.
Sweet potato varieties with dark orange flesh have more beta carotene than those with light-colored flesh, and their increased cultivation is being encouraged in Africa, where vitamin A deficiency is a serious health problem. Despite the name "sweet", it may be a beneficial food for diabetics, as preliminary studies on animals have revealed it helps to stabilize blood sugar levels and to lower insulin resistance.[24]
No comments:
Post a Comment