What is a sweet potato?
The sweet potato, also called Batata, is not actually a potato, but a tuber belonging to the morning glory family and originates from Central and South America. Officially, it is a vegetable.
How healthy is a sweet potato?
The sweet potato contains 1.5 times more antioxidants than, for example, blueberries. These antioxidants neutralize free radicals and protect your body.
The sweet potato is also very rich in beta-carotene, which has an important function as pro-vitamin A. Beta-carotene protects the skin against UV damage. Your body can convert this into vitamin A. And we all know that Vitamin A is good for the skin! When you eat about 100 grams of sweet potato, you already get 35 to 90% of the recommended daily allowance of vitamin A. This is not only good for your immunity and your eyes, but also for your skin.
Sweet potato contains 26 mg of vitamin C per 100 grams. Vitamin C is an antioxidant and protects the body against free radicals. These free radicals play a role in the aging process.
How to eat a sweet potato?
Recipe 1:
- Preheat the oven to 200 ºC. Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them lengthwise into thick fries. Spread them on a baking sheet lined with baking paper. Finely chop the garlic. Mix the oil and garlic in a bowl and drizzle it over the fries. Sprinkle with 1 tbsp sesame seeds and salt and bake in the oven for approx. 45 minutes until golden brown and cooked through. Turn after 25 min. and sprinkle with the remaining sesame seeds.
- Meanwhile, put the sour cream and buttermilk in the cup of the immersion blender. Crumble the cheese into it and blend briefly. Season with pepper. Serve the fries with the dip.
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Recipe 2: Salmon, sweet potato & spinach
- Drizzle some olive oil on the salmon and season it with salt and pepper. Cook the salmon for 14 minutes in the oven at 220 degrees.
- Peel and cut the sweet potato. Heat a tablespoon of coconut oil in a pan and add the potato. Cook this for 10 minutes with the lid on the pan. Briefly fry the spinach with a little coconut oil, salt, and pepper.
Source: Rens Kroes
