I ate a ton of sweet potatoes when I was trying to lose weight. They are one of the most nutritious foods on earth, and certain populations literally thrive on a diet of primarily sweet potatoes (the Papa New Guineans derive somewhere around 80-90% of their daily calories from sweet potatoes).
I sort of got addicted to their delicious, filling nature, so I’ve kept ’em around, and I think I could eat them in some form at every meal, they are so tasty. I like them best roasted (just throw them in the oven at 400 F for 45 minutes or so, with the skins on) and then cooled (I actually like them the day after, the flavor and consistency is more pleasing to me this way and I always take off the skin). So I make a big batch and store them in the fridge so I always have them ready and available to eat. Roasted, as opposed to steaming, intensifies the flavor.
Here’s what I ate this morning (most days I start my day with my shake, then I have what you might call, Breakfast: Part 2, usually midmorning). More impressive than the color of the food, is the nutritional info. Check out the nutrition info! Where’s your protein? Hah! This little dish delivers 11% calories from protein (or 16 g for about 500 calories), definately delivering.
I calculated the nutritional info using the CRON-o-Meter, a free nutritional database, that I love. I like a lot of texture, flavor, and color in my food. I understand others do not (like my husband, J, who shirks from anything that has more than like, three ingredients). So if you’re a “variety is my kinda thing” girl, I think you’ll like this. Since you have a lot of sweetness coming from the sweet potatoes themselves (not to mention the blueberries and bananas), you don’t really need any added sweetener. But if you’re in the mood, add a bit of agave or maple syrup to make it extra sweet.
Ingredients:
- 1 medium roasted sweet potato without the skin, slightly mashed
- 1/2 cup multi-grain oatmeal (I use a 6-grain cereal), dry
- 1/2 c. blueberries (I use frozen blueberries from Costco)
- 1 medium ripe banana, sliced
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 c. nonfat soy milk
Simply layer ingredients in the order listed.
Nutritional Info:
Percentages are based on the daily recommended values for a 2000 calorie diet.
85% calories from carbohydrate
11% from protein
4% from fat (if you want more fat, use regular vanilla soy milk, which will bump up the calories from fat to 9%)
508 calories
16 g protein
2.2 g fat (.159 g omega-3, .673 g omega-6, an excellent ratio of Omega 3’s to 6’s, no greater than 1:4 is recommended)
17 g fiber
42 g sugar
Vitamin A 704%
Folate 16%
B1 (Thiamine) 24%
B2 (Riboflavin) 45%
B3 (Niacin) 26%
B12 9%
Vitamin C 79%
Vitamin d 24%
Vitamin E 10%
Vitamin K 23%
Calcium 38%
Copper 29%
Iron 21%
Magnesium 38%
Manganese 130%
Phosphorus 48%
Potassium 49%
Selenium 27%
Sodium 8%
Zinc 15%
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