Mashed Baked Sweet Potatoes

I do so love sweet potatoes. Luckily the rest of my family does to. I typically slather these puppies with butter, cream, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Since I am on a quest to lose a bit of ass, I did away with the butter, cream, and brown sugar. That's right, all I added was fresh grated cinnamon and nutmeg. They are still just as yummy. I knew this, but I really didn't think the family would eat them. Surprise, surprise. They did. The funny thing, one member who claims to not like sweet potatoes, said these were pretty good and I should consider using this as my pie filling. All I could say was WTF?!?! Oh well, they liked them and all their beta-carotene goodness.

So, on with the recipe. It's easy peasy for sure.

Ingredients:

4 medium sweet potatoes, equals about 4 cups
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375F.

2. Take a fork and poke a few holes in the sweet potatoes.

3. Place on sheet tray or aluminum foil, something to catch the juice, and put in oven.



4. Bake until tender, about 1 hour.

5. Cut off the ends of the potatoes and then slice the skin on top. Remove the potatos to a bowl. Add seasonings and then mash with fork or potato masher.






(ok, so, the color in the one above is much better. don't know what happened, but you get the picture)



Nutritional Analysis:

Calories: 148 kcal
% Calories from Fat: 5
% Calories from Carbs: 89
% Calories from Protein: 6
Total Fat (g): 1
Saturated Fat (g): trace
Monounsaturated Fat (g): trace
Polyunsaturated Fat (g): trace
Cholesterol (mg): 0
Sodium (mg): 253
Potassium (mg): 280
Total Carbohydrates (g): 34
Dietary Fiber (g): 5
Protein (g): 2
Calcium (mg): 45
Iron (mg): 1
Zinc (mg): trace
Vitamin C (mg): 30
Vitamin A (IU): 26618
Vitamin B6 (mg): 0.3
Vitamin B12 (mcg): 0
Thiamin (mg): 0.1
Riboflavin (mg): 0.2
Folacin (mcg): 20
Niacin (mg): 1

Food Exchanges
Starch/Bread: 2
Lean Meat: 0
Vegetable: 0
Fruit: 0
Non-Fat Milk: 0
Fat: 0
Other Carbs: 0

Sweet Potato Soup with Lobster & Orange Crème Fraîche

This is a most decadent soup and excellent for a first course. Despite how it may sound, it is deceptively simple to make and will certainly wow your guests.

Both the crème fraîche and soup can be made up to 2 days ahead. Just make sure to cover and refrigerate them each separately.

1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup sour cream
3 teaspoons fresh ginger, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons orange peel, grated
10 tablespoons butter
3 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes, cut 1/2" thick
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 large leeks, chopped, white and pale green parts only
1 1/3 cups celery, finely diced
10 cups low sodium chicken broth(may need more for thinning the soup to your preferred thickness)
1 1/3 cups orange juice
3 pounds lobster tails
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

To make crème fraîche:

Mix cream, sour cream, 1 1/2 teaspoons ginger and orange peel in medium bowl to blend. Let stand at room temperature until thickened, about 3 hours. Cover and refrigerate.

Making the Soup:

1. Preheat your oven to 400°F. Melt 4 tablespoons butter in large pot over medium heat. Remove from heat. Add sweet potatoes and sugar and toss to coat. Pour sweet potatoes out onto 2 baking sheets. Roast until very tender and beginning to brown, stir occasionally, about 30 minutes.

2. Melt 4 tablespoons butter in same pot over medium heat. Add leeks, celery and remaining ginger. Sauté until leeks begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add roasted sweet potatoes and sauté 2 minutes. Add 10 cups broth and orange juice. Bring mixture to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until leeks and celery are very tender, about 20 minutes.

3. Working in batches, puree soup in processor. Return soup to pot. Thin with more broth, if desired. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Remove lobster meat from shells. Slice into 1/3" thick medallions. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add lobster; sauté until heated through, about 1 minute.

5. Bring soup to simmer. Ladle into bowls. Spoon small dollops of crème fraîche atop soup. Draw a toothpick or skewer through crème fraîche to form design. Arrange lobster on top of the soup and Sprinkle with parsley.

This soup is just as good without the lobster. If you leave out the lobster, your calories drop to 342, lose 1g of fat, protein drops to 12g, lose 1g of carbs, cholesterol drops to 57mg and sodium drops to 570mg. In your exchanges, lean meat drops to 1, while all others stay the same.

Per Serving (12 servings):
444 Calories
20g Fat (44.6% calories from fat)
33g Protein
33g Carbohydrate
3g Dietary Fiber
165mg Cholesterol
905mg Sodium

Exchanges:
1 1/2 Grain(Starch)
4 Lean Meat
1/2 Vegetable
0 Fruit
0 Non-Fat Milk
4 Fat
0 Other Carbohydrates

Because of all the goodies in this soup, I'm adding a few other bits of nutritional data:
134mg Calcium (13% of your RDA)
39 mg Vitamin C (65% of your RDA)
63 mcg Folacin (16% of your RDA)
4 mg Zinc (28% of your RDA)

Sweet Potato Casserole

There's nothing better than the smoothness of the sweet potatos and the contrasting crunch of the topping. I suppose you can make it heart healthy, I've not tried.

2 cups mashed sweet potatoes
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
3/4 stick of butter
1 cup pet milk (evaporated milk)
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon

Mix well, pour into a 8x8 or 9x9 pan and bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes.

Make a topping of:
3/4 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup pecans
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup melted butter

Mix this well and place on top of sweet potato mixture. Bake 15 minutes more.

Glorious sweet potatoes

So, I know yesterday's recipe is far from healthy, but you can certainly substitute healthier alternatives. I don't do that when it comes to dessert. So, how's about a little nutritional information on that glorious tuber the sweet potato.

First off, let us correct a pet peeve of mine. They are sweet potatoes, not yams. There is often much confusion between sweet potatoes and yams; the moist-fleshed, orange-colored root vegetable that is often called a yam is actually a sweet potato. The sweet potato is part of the Morning Glory family, while the Yam is in the Yam family. The Sweet Potato is smooth and has thin skin while the Yam is rough and scaly. The Sweet Potato is moist and sweet while the Yam is dry and starchy. The Sweet Potato has a high beta-carotene content, which gives it the orange color. The Yam has a low beta-carotene content that gives it a much whiter color.

Sweet Potatoes have recently been classified as an "antidiabetic" food. This label has been given because of some recent studies in which sweet potatos helped stabilize blood sugar levels and lowered insulin resistance. Some of its blood sugar regulatory properties may come from the fact that sweet potatoes are concentrated in carotenoids.

Sweet potatoes are an excellent source of vitamin A (beta-carotene) and a very good source of vitamin C; sweet potatoes have healing properties as an antioxidant food. Both beta-carotene and vitamin C are very powerful antioxidants that work in the body to eliminate free radicals. Free radicals are chemicals that damage cells and cell membranes and are associated with the development of conditions like atherosclerosis, diabetic heart disease, and colon cancer.

These nutrients are also anti-inflammatory and can be helpful in reducing the severity of conditions where inflammation plays a role, such as asthma, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis.

Sweet potatoes are a good source of vitamin B6, which is needed to convert homocysteine, an interim product created during an important chemical process in cells called methylation, into other benign molecules. High homocysteine levels are associated with an increased risk of heart attack and stroke, so having a little extra vitamin B6 on hand is a good idea.

If you or someone you love is a smoker, or if you are frequently exposed to secondhand smoke, then making vitamin A-rich foods, such as sweet potatoes, part of your healthy way of eating, may save your life, suggests research conducted at Kansas State University.

While studying the relationship between vitamin A, lung inflammation, and emphysema, Richard Baybutt, associate professor of nutrition at Kansas State, made a surprising discovery: a common carcinogen in cigarette smoke, benzo(a)pyrene, induces vitamin A deficiency.

Earlier research had shown that laboratory animals fed a vitamin A-deficient diet developed emphysema. His latest animal studies indicate that not only does the benzo(a)pyrene in cigarette smoke cause vitamin A deficiency, but that a diet rich in vitamin A can help counter this effect, thus greatly reducing emphysema.

Baybutt believes vitamin A's protective effects may help explain why some smokers do not develop emphysema. "There are a lot of people who live to be 90 years old and are smokers," he said. How you might ask, well most likely this is because of their diet. If you or someone you love smokes, or if your work necessitates exposure to second hand smoke, you can give yourself some added protection by making sure your diet is rich in Vitamin A.

So, maybe that sweet potato pie recipe from yesterday is healthier than you think.

Nutritional Breakdown
1 sweet potato-baked with the skin has 96 calories.

Vitamin A 13107.70 IU 262% of your RDA
Vitamin C 17.06 mg 27% of your RDA
Manganese .52 mg 26% of your RDA
Copper .26 mg 13% of your RDA
Dietary Fiber 3.14 g 13% of your RDA
Vitamin B6 .25 mg 13% of your RDA
Potassium 306.05 mg 11% of your RDA
Iron 1.46 mg 10% of your RDA