Sweet Potato is a great, healthy alternative to regular potatoes and is as versatile as regular potatoes. it can be found easily in most supermarkets and street markets in Sao Paulo. There are two common types of sweet potato red and white and either or both together can be used in these simple healthy recipes.
Sweet Potato Salad
In order to keep the recipe as healthy as possible I have substituted mayonnaise for natural, whole fat yoghurt, which is a great way to include probiotic into your diet. Personally, I always prefer to use full fat rather than skimmed or semi skimmed and just use less. You can also use cottage cheese which is low in fat, but can be expensive to buy in Sao Paulo. However, I have noticed you can get it from the supermarket "Dia" quite cheaply.
The flavours that I like to use with sweet potato are cinnamon, paprika, lemon juice and fresh coriander. Sweet potatoes lend themselves nicely to warm spices with a little kick of heat, seasoned correctly you can avoid salt altogether yet another health benefit.
Ingredients for the salad:
4 large sweet potatoes, red or white or both mixed together
1 small pot of natural, whole fat yoghurt or cottage cheese
handful of fresh coriander
4-5 spring onions
1 lime or lemon, whichever is available
1 fresh red or green chilli
Paprika
Cinnamon
Freshly ground Sea Salt
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
Peel, wash and chop the sweet potatoes into cubes of roughly the same size and add them to a large pan of boiling water. Once cooked through drain and leave to cool. This can be done in advance to allow cooling time.
Empty the yoghurt or cottage cheese into a mixing bowl and squeeze the juice of the lemon or lime to it, add a little salt and pepper for taste. For extra health benefits you could also add a pinch of turmeric to the yoghurt or cottage cheese. Turmeric is an anti-inflammatory spice and can help people who suffer with skin disorders, like psoriasis and arthritic problems. Unless you eat a lot of Indian cuisine it can be difficult to include into your diet, so mixing it with yoghurt for dressings is great way to get it into your diet and besides it will make the yoghurt turn a lovely pale yellow colour. Here you can also add a teaspoon of cinnamon and teaspoon of paprika into the yoghurt mix
Wash and chop up the fresh coriander, spring onions and wash and deseed the chilli.
Once the potatoes have cooled down mix them together with the yoghurt dressing, fresh coriander, spring onions and chilli, chill in the fridge for 10-20 mins serve as a great healthy side dish.
Sweet Potato Home Fries
This is an excellent recipe to go with dips and is a much healthier option than buying fatty potato chips that are full of saturated fats and salt, plus it is cheaper and takes no time at all to make.
Pre heat your oven to about 180 degrees to get it nice and hot, while that is heating up peel and wash your sweet potatoes. Chop the sweet potatoes down the middle, on the long side, then down the middle again on the long side, so they look like big cut chips. Depending on how big the potatoes are you may have to chop them one more time, just make sure they are all roughly the same size.
Take a roasting pan and put a small circle of sunflower oil in the centre throw in the sweet potatoes and mix them into the oil, making sure they are all nicely coated. Now dust a teaspoon of paprika and cinnamon over the potatoes mixing again with your hands to make sure they all have a nice even coating. Shake the roasting pan and pop into the oven allowing them about forty minutes to cook. if you have a gas oven you may need to turn them so they cook evenly.
Once soft in the middle with a crunchy outer layer put onto a serving dish with some kitchen paper to absorb any excess fat and serve with either a homemade tomato salsa, guacamole or mint yoghurt dip delicious and healthy with no SALT !!!!
I will put my dip recipes up soon.
http://www.healthdiaries.com/eatthis/20-health-benefits-of-turmeric.html
http://www.undergroundhealth.com/harvard-low-fat-milk
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=64
http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=79753
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