Health News at Your Fingertips

Sweet potatoes are not only incredibly delicious, they’re also very healthy and should definitely be included on your healthy shopping list. Find out about the health benefits of this root vegetable and try these three tasty dishes.  

What makes sweet potatoes so healthy? 

There are many reasons why sweet potatoes are so good for you. Here’s a breakdown:

• Sweet potatoes are packed with vitamins and minerals. They are especially high in beta carotene (an antioxidant that converts to vitamin A), vitamin E, and potassium. 
• They are rich in antioxidants, which protect our body from free radicals.⁽¹⁾ These have been shown to counteract the aging process and chronic diseases like cancer. ⁽²⁾
• This sweet root vegetable is high in fiber, which is very important for a healthy digestion. ⁽³⁾ The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics recommends around 30 g of fiber a day. ⁽⁴⁾
• Have it for breakfast, a snack, in soup, a side dish, main course, or dessert. Sweet potatoes are incredibly versatile. They’re delicious boiled, puréed, fried, steamed, or baked, and you can even use them in brownies! 

3 Irresistible Sweet Potato Recipes 

Yearning for some mouth-watering sweet potatoes? Try these three healthy and delicious recipes!

1. LOADED SWEET POTATO SKINS

INGREDIENTS (serves 1):

• 1 sweet potato
• 2 eggs
• Salt
• Pepper
• Crushed red pepper flakes to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 200°C (400°F). 
2. Place the sweet potato on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake it for approx. 45 minutes until it is soft.
3. Then cut the potato in half and scoop out most of the flesh, leaving a 5 mm layer of potato. But don’t throw the tasty flesh away – you can use it as an extra side dish or turn it into mashed sweet potatoes.
4. Carefully crack an egg into each sweet potato half and bake your skins for an additional 15-20 minutes. 
5. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and some crushed red pepper flakes.

2. Vegan Pumpkin, Sweet Potato & Coconut Soup

Ingredients (serves 4):

• 1 edible pumpkin or squash (red kuri)
• 1 sweet potato
• 1 onion
• 1 thumb-sized piece of ginger
• 1 liter vegetable stock
• 200 ml coconut milk
• Coconut oil
• Salt 
• Pepper

Directions:

1. Wash the pumpkin, cut it in half and remove the seeds. 
2. Cut the flesh into large chunks.
3. Peel and cut the sweet potato into large chunks.
4. Peel and finely chop the onion and ginger.
5. Heat some coconut oil.
6. Sauté the onion and ginger.
7. Add the pumpkin and sweet potato and cook the vegetables for a few minutes.
8. Pour in the vegetable stock. 
9. Let the soup simmer for about 15 minutes until the pumpkin and sweet potato are tender.
10. Blend the soup using a high-quality blender or an immersion blender. Then stir in the coconut milk.
11. Season the pumpkin, sweet potato and coconut soup with salt & pepper. 
12. Garnish with pumpkin seed oil and roasted pumpkin seeds.

3. Roasted Sweet Potato Salad with Honey-Mustard Dressing

Ingredients for one bowl (serves 6):

• 4 large sweet potatoes
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• Paprika
• Handful of cherry tomatoes (to taste)
• 285 g corn (1 can)
• 255 g kidney beans (1 can)
• 2 spring onions
• Juice of 2 limes
• 1 Tbsp honey
• 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
• Salt 
• Pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F).
2. Peel and dice the sweet potatoes. 
3. Put them in a bowl and mix them with some olive oil, salt, pepper and paprika.
4. Place the sweet potatoes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and roast them in the oven for about 30 minutes.
5. In the meantime, finely chop the tomatoes and cut the spring onions into rings.
6. When the sweet potatoes are done, put them in a bowl. Combine them with the spring onions, tomatoes, corn and beans.
7. Add the lime juice, honey, Dijon mustard, salt and pepper to the sweet potato salad and mix everything well. You can serve the salad warm or cold.

We hope you enjoy our recipes. Bon appetit!

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