How To Cook Sweet Potatoes-Healthy Recipe

Grilled Sweet Potatoes Are The Best

I love grilled sweet potatoes.  Nothing gets any easier or tastier than a sweet potato and a chicken breast for a quick grilled summer (healthy) supper.  Anytime you can eat a sweet potato instead of a white potato, DO IT!

Sweet Potatoes = The Best Healthy Carb

Sweet potatoes are one of the best carbohydrates you can consume. Some nutritionists even include them in the superfoods group. The reason that sweet potatoes are so good for you is that they are almost a balanced meal in themselves.

Sweet potatoes are a healthy choice because they are a good source of:

• Potassium – a mineral that helps to control blood pressure
• Vitamin B6 – good for your blood vessels as well as reducing the risk of heart disease
• Antioxidants – known to fight aging
• Sweet potatoes are a good source of manganese, a mineral that helps with carbohydrate metabolism, making sweet potatoes a better choice for diabetics.

In addition, sweet potatoes are complex carbohydrates that are high in fiber.  This means that the carbs are delivered to the blood stream gradually, which is another benefit for diabetics.  Because they are high fiber, sweet potatoes fill you up, so you eat moderately.

How To Cook A Sweet Potato

The easiest way to cook a sweet potato is either bake it or grill it.  This is a very simple recipe for either baking or grilling your sweet potatoes.

1. Wash the sweet potatoes
2. Drizzle with a good oil like grape seed or olive oil
3. Sprinkle with a nice sea salt or other coarse grain salt
4. Sprinkle with fresh ground pepper
5. Sprinkle with an herb blend or a fresh herb of your own (Tonight I used the garlic herb blend from WildTree Herbs. they also carry grape seed oil which is a GOOD oil.)
6. Bake in a 375 * oven until done OR grill on a medium grill until done.

I find that the easiest thing to do is make a few extra every time I fire up the grill or oven, so there are leftovers for lunch or eating in a hurry.  Note: cooking time varies depending on the size of the potato.

Eat Like A Caveman! Eating Healthy Foods!!

Caveman Foods Are Healthy!!

In prehistoric times, humans could eat well during warm months, store excess calories as fat, and thus survive during colder months. They cooked food over coals (grit/ash in food) and used salt/fat to preserve food for cold months.  There was no concern with whether they were eating high fat or high salt consumption. Cavemen (and women) had no concern at all as to whether their  foods were healthy.

Food, cooking tools and cooking techniques have evolved since the days of the healthy caveman’s diet. Now food is tastier and more readily available.  In the 21st century, food is entertainment and the fact that it is no longer healthy is secondary.

No Concerns Over Healthy Food Facts

Culinary arts really started to develop in the late 1800s and early 1900s,  when the emphasis on preparing food to appreciate taste became the “in” thing to do. At that time, like in the days of the cave people, there was no concern over whether the food was healthy or not.  Escoffier (founding father of modern culinary techniques) and the chefs on the Titanic did not study the nutritional facts of the foods they were serving.   The Titanic food service, the French cuisine that Escoffier is famous for, and other culinary examples were the beginning of the culinary entertainment industry. It is only in the past one hundred or so years that new techniques in preparation & presentation have been used to entertain and to impress friends and dinner guests.

Scientists began to study the effects of food on the body in the 20th century.  Now more than ever the “entertainment” facet of food is beginning to affect our health!

Simple Healthy Fruit & Nut Coleslaw Recipe

The following recipe is a simple, healthy good-for-you coleslaw recipe that uses ingredients that are closer to what the cave people used.

Low Fat Coleslaw

6 cup shredded cabbage
1 carrot-peeled and shredded
¼ cup slivered red onion

½ cup cider vinegar
¼ cup orange concentrate
¼ cup water
¼ tsp. black pepper
¼ tsp. sea salt

½ cup toasted pecans
1 quart strawberries

1. Combine first 3 ingredients.
2. Combine next 4 ingredients.
3. Allow to sit overnight or several hours.
4. Before service: toss with chicken, grapes and bleu cheese and serve over lettuce cups.

What Is Good Nutrition?

Nutrition is the science of nutrients in food and how they are ingested, digested, absorbed, transported, and utilized to build and maintain the body. Nutrients are chemicals needed to support the body and to help it grow and develop.

Everyone needs to receive a full supply of necessary nutrients on a regular basis, not necessarily all at each meal.  Food and the nutrients it contains provides our bodies with energy, they build body structure, and enable the chemical reactions that cause the body to function.  An occasional poor or nutrient-deficient meal will not jeopardize your health as long as you get a regular and consistent supply of nutrients.

Improper nutrition causes decreased energy, developmental problems, decreased focus, and increased fatigue.

Find Nutritional Information

With the onset of manufactured foods or non-food consumables, most people do not have the scientific knowledge to make sound food selection choices. Most of us have started using other ways to select food rather than taking the time to find out the nutritional information about our foods and picking meals based on the food’s nutrients. We choose our foods because of learned behavior, psychological or social needs, and most often, based on the marketing message delivered by savvy businesses.

Read Your Nutritional Label

If you are not reading the nutritional labels of your foods, then chances are you are not getting a regular and consistent supply of nutrients.  Only you can really control what you put in your mouth. It is important to recognize that we have choices and that good nutrition requires a dedicated focus on personal education. Living in the 21st century has many benefits. We can eat pineapples in Pennsylvania in the winter, or communicate with people in Australia through online chats, or purchase, pay for, and receive a hand-crafted gift from New Guinea within one week. With these benefits comes some disadvantages, one of which is that you MUST study food to make good nutritional choices and read the food ingredient label.

The single most important action for your family’s nutrition is to read the ingredients list of your food purchases. Choose foods with only recognizable whole foods and a minimum amount of chemicals.

Nutritional Counseling

6 Weeks To The New You is a step-by-step education program that teaches you how to make good-for-you food choices and become educated in how to pick nutritious foods. It is like hiring a nutritional counseling service.  At an extremely affordable price, you have everything you need to learn about your food’s nutrition, deciphering the nutritional label, and creating a healthy nutritious diet for your family.