Fall Superfood, The Sweet Potato

September 27, 2015 — cuisine, fall food, food prep, nutrition, sweet potato, wellness

sweet potato vine

My food prep  practice has helped me introduce more variety into our diet and reduce waste. I don’t aspire to fit all my preparation for the week into one day, like many of the serious preppers. My goal is to consolidate my cooking in order to have a few days each week free from major kitchen cleaning. The reward is so valuable to me that it inspires me to improve my strategy. I believe 3 days at leisure with a selection of prepared meals available is ideal for me because I do enjoy cooking. My perfect style is like having a delicatessen at home that never runs out of treats. Sometimes specialty items can be purchased to fill in for home-made, but cooking from scratch is what I like to do and the way I like to eat.  Trader Joe’s helps me a lot when I don’t want to fuss, but I have a goal of eating more whole foods.

This autumn season I want to develop some new variations on some old themes.  Chowder, chili, and cornbread are on the menu for savory foods.  Tapioca pudding and bubble teas are on the new frontier of desserts.  I like deconstructing desserts, then building small portions when I want a bite.  Deconstructing lends itself to food prep, since you can create the elements to be combined later as desired.

There is one healthy food I want to include more often in new ways.  That food is the mighty sweet potato. Most of the dishes I prepared in the past were sweet, like soufflé or sweet potato pie.  I recently tried a savory sweet potato salad with cilantro, bell peppers, cumin and chiles.  That savory recipe has inspired me to experiment with the spicy/savory realm.  There are good reasons to include sweet potatoes in your diet:

• Potassium rich
• Fiber source
• High in antioxidants
• Low glycemic index

This healthy root vegetable will be featured on our fall table in as many new ways as possible.  What is your favorite sweet potato recipe, gentle reader?

sweet potatoes