Craving a sweet potato-based dinner? Try these 5 easy and nutritious recipes

Sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas) are a tuberous crop that comes in a variety of colors, from purple to red to pale yellow and white. These tubers are a rich source of complex carbohydrates like starch and fiber, and minerals like calcium, phosphorus, sodium, potassium and magnesium. A single serving of sweet potatoes can also provide more than 400 percent of the recommended daily dose of vitamin A.

As their name suggests, sweet potatoes are naturally sweet, and their flavor can be enhanced when cooked. Here are five easy dinner recipes that use just one whole sweet potato. (h/t to MindBodyGreen.com)

Sweet potato fritters

Give the classic latke (potato pancake) a sweet-and-savory twist using sweet potatoes.

Ingredients:

• 1 Piece sweet potato, shredded
• 1 Onion, shredded
• 1 Egg
• ¼ Cup flour of your choice

Combine all the ingredients. You can fry the mixture in a pan – like a traditional latke – or bake it in the oven.

If you choose the latter, preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Spray a parchment-lined baking sheet with avocado oil then spoon the mixture onto the parchment.

Bake for about 15 minutes or until the underside is golden then flip and repeat on the other side.

Serve with unsweetened yogurt and chopped chives if you want savory fritters, or cinnamon applesauce for sweet fritters. (Related: Researchers document the nutrient content, phytochemical properties of sweet potato flour.)

Sweet potato toast

If you are bored of avocado toast, you can replace avocados with sweet potatoes. Slice a sweet potato into planks, put them in the toaster, and add the toppings of your choice. You can slather avocado on the sweet potato planks and sprinkle on red chili flakes. Alternatively, you can spread some almond butter on them and sprinkle cinnamon and hemp seeds, or you can fry an egg as a topping and add some olive-oil-tossed arugula to your sweet potato toast.

Mexican-style baked sweet potatoes

A baked sweet potato is a glorious base for any number of toppings.

Ingredients:

• 1 Sweet potato
• Black beans, drained and rinsed
• Salsa of your choice
• Green onion, chopped
• Cheese

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Stab the sweet potato with a fork a few times, then bake it for about 30 minutes to an hour, depending on its size. It will be soft when it’s ready.

Let it cool, then season it with salt and top it with black beans, salsa, chopped green onions and cheese.

Sweet potato chickpea curry

You can make a big batch of this recipe that will last for a week so you can have leftovers to eat any day you want.

Ingredients:

• 1 Sweet potato, cubed
• 1 Yellow onion, chopped
• 1 Can of coconut milk
• 1 Cup veggie stock
• 2 Tbsp red curry paste
• 1 Can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• Fine-grain sea salt

Add the sweet potato and sweet onion to a large pot. Drizzle with avocado oil and a generous pinch of fine-grain sea salt.

Heat the pot over medium-heat until the sweet potato and onion are both brown. Add coconut milk, veggie stock, red curry paste and chickpeas.

Cook until a fork can pierce easily through the sweet potatoes. Sprinkle with some sea salt and serve plain or over rice.

Sweet potato carbonara

For this recipe, you will need a spiralizer – a handy kitchen tool for veggie lovers.

Ingredients:

• 1 Sweet potato
• 2 Eggs
• Parmesan cheese
• Spinach
• Parsley, chopped
• Pastured bacon, chopped (optional)
• Sea salt (fine-grain) and pepper, to taste

Boil water in a large pot, then add a small palmful of fine-grain sea salt. Peel the sweet potato, then run it through the spiralizer to create your pasta. Cook the sweet potato pasta in the water for about 1 to 2 minutes or until just done. Set aside ¼ cup of cooking water, then drain sweet potato.

For the egg mixture, beat together the eggs, a handful of Parmesan cheese and a generous amount of salt and pepper.

Put the sweet potato pasta back in the pot, then stir in the egg mixture. Drizzle in the reserved cooking water while stirring the mixture until a silky pasta forms. During this step, you can wilt in the spinach and add chopped pastured bacon if desired. Top with chopped parsley and enjoy.

There are many other ways to use sweet potatoes in your everyday meals. Visit NaturalNewsRecipes.com to learn more.

Sources include:

MindBodyGreen.com

OrganicFacts.net