Sweet Potato

I've been on a quest to eat more healthfully for a few months now (although not so much during Christmas) and have been eating as 'natural' as possible, cutting out processed foods where I can.  I've also long since rid myself of all artificial sweetners (be it sacchrine, aspertame, splenda, or high fructose corn syrup) in preference for real ones.

In the process I've managed to lose more than one jeans size (though not quite two...yet. It's close, though. Especially post-stomach flu). To do so, however, I have been tracking calories with myfitnesspal, which has a nicely expansive data base, will scan bar codes to add info to the data base, and which tracks not only your calories but also your percent carbs, fat, and proteins  AND various nutritional data such as vitamins.

Post stomach flu, I've spent several days eating easily digested foods because -- obvious!  So there were a couple of days last week where I ate very, very little.  Imagine my surprise when I looked at the nutritional data for a day when I had eaten next to nothing and my vitamin A consumption was out the roof!

In fact, I had eaten little more that day than some juice and a sweet potato. So I looked up the sweet potato.

Turns out, sweet potatoes are hella nutritious (if you're not topping them with brown sugar or marshmallows.) And I'm updating my long abandoned 100 things meme

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Health Benefits of Sweet Potatoes (from several sources)

Among the super foods, sweet potatoes top the list.

Research is indicating that the humble sweet potato may be an important factor in combating obesity, diabetes, inflammation and Vitamin A deficiency. And butter-lovers rejoice; the sweet potato is one vegetable that is actually good for you when eaten with fat.


History of the sweet potato:
Native to Central America, sweet potatoes are one of the oldest foods known to man. It is believed that they spread to South America and to the Caribbean by 2500 BC, and to Polynesia by 1000 AD. Christopher Columbus took sweet potatoes to Europe, and from there they spread to the Philippines, Africa, India, Indonesia, and Asia. Sweet potatoes have been grown in the southern region of the United States since the 1600s, and feature prominently in southern cooking.

In the U.S., the names “sweet potato” and “yam” are used interchangeably, but they are not the same. Sweet potatoes are members of the Morning Glory family while yams are from the Lily family. They differ in appearance and nutritional value, and yams are rarely seen in the U.S. outside of ethnic specialty stores. Prior to the mid 1900s the sweet potatoes grown in the U.S. were the dryer-fleshed white varieties. When the orange-fleshed potatoes were introduced growers called them yams to differentiate them from the white. Today, if the name “yam” is used, the government requires “sweet potato” to also appear on the label.

Best cooking methods:
No matter how nutritious a food is, it does no good if it is not bioaccessible, or able to be used by the body. The bioaccessibility of the beta-carotene in sweet potatoes has been the subject of a number of studies, and researchers have concluded that very little of the beta-carotene is bioavailable when the vegetable is consumed raw. More beta-carotene was available when the potatoes were roasted, and still more when boiled or steamed. When steamed or boiled, they are fairly low on the glycemic index compared to most other starches, and are a great choice for those with diabetes. The highest levels of beta-carotene were bioaccessible when sweet potatoes were served with fat (or fried). Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin, and the presence of fat when the potato is cooked and eaten assists the body in converting beta-carotene to Vitamin A.

Whether turned into chips or fries, mashed, roasted, steamed, or baked, sweet potatoes aren’t just for Thanksgiving anymore.

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Nutrition:

Sweet potatoes contain almost twice as much fiber as other types of potatoes. Contributing close to 7 grams of fiber per serving. The high fiber content gives them a "slow burning" quality. This basically means their caloric energy is used more slowly and efficiently than a low-fiber carbohydrate.

Heart-healthy
They contain a large amount of vitamin B6. This vitamin is crucial in breaking down a substance called homocysteine, which contributes to hardening of the arteries and blood vessels.

In addition, sweet potatoes contain high amounts of potassium. Potassium plays an important role in lowering blood pressure by ridding the body of excess sodium and regulating fluid balance.

Rich in beta-carotene or vitamin A which is an important antioxidant. One medium sweet potato provides your body with the complete recommended daily allowance of vitamin A and then some. Beta-carotene also helps to internally protect your skin from sun damage by both deflecting and repairing cell damage caused by excessive UV exposure. It also is an excellent nutrient for eye health and has been linked to prevention of vision loss and macular degeneration.

As if being one of the top vegetable sources of beta-carotene weren't enough, sweet potatoes are also rich in vitamins C and E.

Both vitamin A and vitamin C, are invaluable for the prevention of many different types of cancer and have anti-inflammatory properties. Lowered inflammation has been shown in brain tissue and nerve tissue throughout the body following the consumption of sweet potato.

Also a great source of manganese which is a little-discussed trace mineral that has some great health benefits. It is a pivotal component in the metabolism of carbohydrates which helps support healthy blood sugar levels. This can help stabilize the appetite for hours as opposed to the temporary satisfaction that comes with most other carbohydrates.

Not Always a Casserole
Sweet potatoes are naturally sweet and do not need to be covered in marshmallows and brown sugar to be tasty. Try slow-baking in their own skins (no foil needed) or toss wedges of sweet potato with olive oil, salt and chili powder and bake at 450 degrees F until crispy on the outside and soft inside for a healthy twist on fries.

Chicken Pot Pie

When I posted the sweet potatoes thing and linked it to my 100 things meme, I realized not only had I abandoned the meme, but I actually hadn't got very far to begin with!

So...hmm...

What I made for Sunday dinner (after a week of starving because of stomach flu so it isn't a low-cal recipe.  Just a comfort food one.)

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History (from the L.A. Times)
That old American standby, the meat pot pie, has a long history. Back in the days of the Roman Empire, these pastries were served at banquets, sometimes with live birds under the crust, which must have startled unwary guests.

In the 16th Century, the English gentry revived the ancient custom of meat pies. The fad soon swept the country, moving a British food writer to comment that his countrymen were especially fond of deer meat, "which they bake in pasties, and this venison pasty is a dainty rarely found in any other kingdom."

In fact, Britons during that era consumed meat pies of all sorts, including pork, lamb and game. They were especially fond of birds, and during the reign of Elizabeth I, English cooks made pot pies using "chicken peepers," which consisted of tiny chicks stuffed with gooseberries.

Around the middle of the 16th Century, one cookbook included a sort of telescopic pie in which five birds were stuffed one inside the other, then wrapped in dough.

This trend toward the grotesque reached its peak when an English food writer took a page from the ancient Romans and featured a recipe that began "to make pies that the birds may be alive and fly out when it is cut up. . . ."

This fondness for meat pies soon spread to the New World. In the 19th Century, Americans became enamored of a pie that featured robins.

The settlers who came to America took their pot pie recipes with them when they moved westward. By the present century, chicken pot pies and meat variations have become as American as corn on the cob.

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The one I go with?

Homemade (mostly!) Chicken Pot Pie

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
6 parsley sprigs; 6 thyme sprigs; 1/4 cup celery leaves; 2 bay leaves
1 tbs vegetable oil
1 tablespoon butter
2 tbs white wine vinegar
1 cup diced celery
1/3 cup finely chopped shallots
1/3 cup chopped carrots
1/3 cup chopped mushrooms
1 cup English peas
3 cups low-salt chicken broth
1 1/2 chicken (I used whole legs. You can use chicken breast though)
1 cup whipping cream


Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter 11x7-inch glass baking dish. Roll out pastry on lightly floured surface to 13x9-inch rectangle. Transfer to baking sheet and chill.

Heat vegetable oil over high heat
Sear chicken then remove from heat
Reduce heat and deglaze with vinegar: cook down by half
Add diced celerym carrots, and shallots
Add butter; sauté 5 minutes.
Add parsley, thyme, celery leaves, and bay leaves
Add broth; bring to boil.
Add chicken. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until chicken is just cooked through, about 12 minutes.
Remove chicken. Increase heat to medium; boil mixture until reduced to 1 1/2 cups, about 15 minutes.
Add cream and return to boil.
Add potato cubes; cover and cook until tender, about 10 minutes.
Add mushrooms and peas
Remove pan from heat. cut chicken into bite-size chunks and add to pan.
Season with salt and pepper.

Pour mixture into baking dish. Top with pastry; press overhang to sides of dish.

Bake until golden, about 30 minutes.