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Sweet potatoes are not related to ordinary potatoes in any way. This is a plant from the bindweed family with beautiful flowers and tubers of different colors, from orange to purple.
These tubers are edible, and their taste matches the color-sweet and rich. The texture of sweet potatoes resembles potatoes, which is why they are often attributed to kinship. And they are often prepared similarly. For example, they are deep-fried, mashed, and baked with butter in the oven. These are the most obvious ways to cook sweet potatoes.
A native of the subtropical regions of Colombia and Peru, it has a sweet taste. The content of simple carbohydrates in raw sweet potatoes is 2-2.5%. At the same time, the caloric content is only 84 kcal. The absence of fats in the cells of sweet potatoes makes it a beneficial dietary product. The composition of sweet potatoes includes fat-soluble (A, K, E) and water-soluble (C, group B) vitamins.
Health benefits
The healing properties of vegetable culture are due to the rich chemical composition:
- The carotene contained in the composition is responsible for youth and beauty. It helps to produce collagen, which successfully fights the appearance of wrinkles.
- The vegetable perfectly copes with lowering blood pressure, prevents the appearance of cholesterol deposits, and improves blood flow.
- The potassium content helps to cope with depression. Any stress contributes to the loss of potassium, and the use of sweet potatoes will replenish the body with the necessary substance. A natural antidepressant helps to cope with fatigue and irritability.
- With diabetes, it is significant to eat foods that do not affect sugar spikes. Sweet potatoes have a low glycemic index, which means that they are not dangerous for diabetics.
- The exotic fruit will bring great benefits for the normalization of digestion. The vegetable contains dietary fiber, which prevents the formation of constipation, soothes inflammatory pain in gastritis or ulcers.
- It is equally important to eat a vegetable for people who want to build muscle mass. Many athletes begin to introduce sweet potatoes into the diet to achieve better results.
Downsides
Sweet potatoes are used not only for food but also for the preparation of medicinal infusions. Any drug has several contraindications. Tinctures and raw root powder are contraindicated in some cases:
- For ulcerative colitis.
- Limited use during pregnancy.
- If you eat a lot of sweet potatoes, it can provoke the appearance of kidney stones. So there may still be a little harm from sweet potatoes because you need to know the measure in everything.
Sweet potatoes and potatoes: differences
Tubers of ordinary potatoes have a rounded irregular shape with various cracks. The flesh of the vegetable is much lighter than the peel. Potatoes are not eaten raw: this can lead to health problems. Sweet potatoes have similarities with potatoes, especially red varieties. However, there are also significant differences. Sweet potato fruits are much longer, the flesh has a more saturated orange color.
Some varieties of sweet potatoes have a white pulp. The structure of the pulp of potato root vegetables is much looser, contains starch. The main distinguishing feature of sweet potatoes from potatoes is the opportunity to eat them raw without harming the body.
The nutritional value of sweet potatoes is slightly higher than that of ordinary ones. In potato tubers, 100 grams of vegetables contain 16 grams of carbohydrates with a caloric content of 77 kcal. Sweet potatoes have fewer carbohydrates in a similar portion – 13 grams, which means that it has a lower calorie content – 60 kcal.
Potatoes contain more potassium, which is necessary for the proper functioning and strengthening of muscles, and various vitamins of group B. Sweet potatoes contain a large amount of vitamin A, which is so necessary for normal vision.
Experts consider sweet potatoes to be a healthier product. Potatoes also contain a lot of starch, which in increased volumes negatively affects the figure. Nevertheless, both root vegetables have beneficial properties and should occupy an honorable place on the human menu.
How to cook sweet potatoes: recipes
- Simple baking. It takes very little time to bake sweet potatoes in the oven. Preheat the oven to 230°C. Scrape the tubers with a knife and put them in the oven over medium heat. On the outside, they will be covered with a delicious crispy crust. To make it even tastier, before putting the tubers in the oven, put a piece of butter on them, sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Wrap the tubes in foil. After cooking the tubers, remove the tubers from the oven, cut, and sprinkle with your favorite seasonings.
- Deep-frying. Cut the sweet potatoes into strips, put them on a baking sheet, cover with baking paper and sprinkle with olive oil. Add spices to the sweet potato. Bake the sweet potato in the oven at 120°C for 25 minutes, turning the pieces from time to time. To check whether the dish is ready, you can pierce the slices with a fork.
- Frying on a baking sheet. Lightly fried vegetables are rich in vitamins and minerals and are well suited to chicken, beef, and pork. Sweet potatoes in the fried form go well with pumpkin, onions, parsnips, carrots, and beets. Preheat the oven to 220°C. Spread the baking sheet with baking paper. Cut the sweet potato into slices, put it in a bowl, and mix with salt, pepper, and herbs (rosemary and thyme). You can add garlic because it gives the sweet potato dish a very rich taste and aroma. After the oven warms up, put the vegetables on a hot baking sheet. Fry them for 30-45 minutes, or until they become soft. However, they should not be too soft. Make sure that they are not overcooked and do not stick to the baking sheet.
How to make mashed sweet potatoes
You can use this vegetable to make delicious mashed potatoes. Cooking instructions:
- Peel the sweet potato. Cut it the way you usually cut potatoes for mashed potatoes. Immediately fill it with cold water. Sweet potatoes should not have time to darken.
- Fill the sweet potato with water so that the liquid covers two fingers on top.
- Cook until the sweet potatoes are completely soft. Check the readiness with a fork or knife: if it is easy to enter, it means that it is ready.
- Drain the water. Mash the sweet potato with a potato masher until it is mashed. And then add the butter and pour in the milk. Mash again, breaking all the lumps. Add salt.
- Chop the parsley finely. Sprinkle with sweet potato puree.
- Serve immediately on the table. When cold, the puree loses its taste.
What is the healthiest way to cook sweet potatoes?
The most beneficial way to cook sweet potatoes is to keep them fresh. To do this, you can make a vitamin salad. Necessary ingredients:
- Sweet potato – 2 pcs
- Raisins-50 g
- A handful of nuts
- 30 g coconut chips
- Salt – to taste
How to cook:
- Peel the sweet potato and grate it on a coarse grater.
- Add salt, coconut chips, raisins, chopped nuts.
- Mix everything well, then put it in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
How to cook a sweet potato in a microwave
Do you want something delicious, but you don’t have much time? Try cooking crumbly sweet potatoes in the microwave. It’s easy and fast, and the potatoes will turn out as sweet and tender as after baking in the oven. At the same time, the thin peel of sweet potatoes will turn into an appetizing crispy crust, and the sweet pulp melting in the mouth will remain inside. The fastest way to cook sweet potatoes is to bake them in the microwave. The product turns out to be incredibly tasty and fragrant!
Ingredients:
- Sweet potato-1 pc. (120-150 g)
- Butter – (10 g)
- Fresh herbs – (5 g)
- Salt – to taste
Instructions for cooking:
- Thoroughly wash the sweet potatoes from the ground.
- Put the washed sweet potatoes on a microwave tray and pierce the skin well in 5-10 places with a fork.
- Wrap each root vegetable in a separate paper kitchen towel, well soaked in water.
- Cover the sweet potato tray with a lid or some kind of container that is designed for a microwave oven.
- Set the microwave power to 600 watts and the time to “5 minutes”.
- Garnish with green peas.
How long to microwave a sweet potato
The cooking time depends on the size of the potatoes and the power of the microwave oven. As a rule, medium and large potatoes are cooked for 8-12 minutes at full power.
Place the sweet potato in the microwave for 5 minutes, then take it out and turn it over. Put the potatoes back in the microwave for another 3-5 minutes, depending on how soft they are after the first 5 minutes. If the potatoes are not ready after that, continue to bake them at 1-minute intervals.
If you are cooking several potatoes, you will have to increase the baking time. If one large potato takes 10 minutes, it will take 16-17 minutes for two large potatoes.
To get sweet potatoes with a crispy crust, you can cook them in the microwave for 5-6 minutes, and then remove the paper towel, transfer it to a baking sheet, and put it in a preheated oven to 200 °C for 20 minutes.
Can you overcook sweet potatoes?
It is hard to overcook sweet potatoes in the microwave – you need to put the wrong power and a huge time! It is important to remember that an undercooked product will taste very unpleasant. If you cook the product at intervals, there will be no problems.
Check the sweet potato for readiness: if the fork easily enters the sweet potato, then it is ready. Sweet potatoes should not be too soft, do not overcook them.
Is it better to boil or bake a sweet potato?
The best option is to cook baked sweet potatoes. It does not lose its beneficial properties and is more pleasant to the taste. The boiling process selects a lot of trace elements. It does not take much time to bake and the process itself is quite easy.
To cook a sweet potato, you will need at least 40 minutes. This is a lot of time, especially when you are in a hurry somewhere and just want to have a snack. Baking vegetables in the microwave will cost you 15-20 minutes.
Is sweet potato good for weight loss?
Sweet potatoes contain a lot of valuable substances. These are organic acids, antioxidants, fiber, vitamins P, E, C, A, and B groups, selenium, phosphorus, copper, iron, potassium, anthocyanins, sugars. And at the same time, 100 g of the product contains only 60 kcal.
Why should sweet potatoes be consumed when losing weight? In addition to low-calorie content, this root vegetable perfectly cleanses the intestines, as it has a mild laxative effect, normalizes the digestive system, gives a feeling of satiety for a long time, thanks to fiber (it is more tender than cabbage or beetroot).
Weight loss will take place at a rapid pace if a useful root vegetable is cooked, baked, or stewed. Sweet potatoes make delicious soups, hearty stews. And the most useful thing is to eat sweet potatoes in raw form. It can be added to various salads, smoothies, snacks.
When losing weight, it is best to combine root vegetables with vegetables. And you can also prepare sweet puree and add berries, fruits, dried fruits, and spices. This will speed up the process of getting rid of extra pounds.
You can use this root vegetable at any time of the day. In the morning you can eat a light salad, at lunch-baked sweet potatoes, and in the evening prepare a casserole. Yes, since sweet potatoes have a low glycemic index, you can eat them in the evening.
There are also contraindications to the use of this product. It is not recommended to eat sweet potatoes for ulcers, colitis, individual intolerance, and pregnancy.
Summary
Sweet potato is an unusual vegetable that has a lot of beneficial substances. There are many ways to prepare this product – baking, cooking, adding to salads. These methods differ in speed and efficiency. The best way is to bake a sweet potato with vegetables and seasonings or make a salad out of it. So the product will not lose its properties.
Many people believe that this vegetable is similar to potatoes, but this is not the case. They have different tastes and compositions.