Lazy Sweet Potato Lurvin’ (and Coconut Oil Too!)

Since starting my healthy eating kick a few months ago, I have discovered many, many new obsessions. All these obsessions were things I previously would not have touched with a 10-foot pole as their nutritional data did not live up to my high standards of what I considered a “healthy” food – basically I used to be a protein-seeker and carb-and-fat-avoider, and all I looked at was a nutrition label as opposed to the ingredients (I talk more about my new feelings on healthy in this post). Some of my top new food obsessions that used to be blacklisted include sweet potatoes (old me: “but they’re all carbs!”), avocados (old me: “But they’re all fat!”) and coconut water (old me: “It’s all sugar grams!”) (I talk more about why coconut water is the shizzle in this post). And, *gasp* all of these items have little to no protein! AHHH! But fret not, these foods are actually the bomb. Now that I’ve wised up to the nutritional awesomeness of these pure foods, I have also opened up to a whole new world of yumminess.

Today we’ll talk about why I’m head over heels for the carby goodness of sweet potaterrrrrrz. One good sized orange tater has over a day’s worth of your vitamin A needs, about a third of your vitamin C, and boatloads of potent super nutrients like fiber, vitamin B6, potassium, iron, manganese, and copper (source). All for only about 120 calories! On top of that, some studies show sweet potatoes’ unique protein structure may contain tons of heart healthy antioxidants, and then, ON TOP OF THAT, they taste a-maz-ing!!! AND, THEY’RE A VEGETABLE! HELLO, no brainer over here. Go get some sweet potatoes, stat!

So normally I like to buy (and subsequently eat) my sweet potatoes by the boatload. I buy a 4-lb bag of organic sweet potatoes at my fave spot, Trader Joe’s, for about $4. Pretty bomb deal. However, one evening while passing through Trader Joe’s, feeling hungry and lazy after a long day, this little bag caught my eye (sorry, forgot to take the pic til after I emptied the bag! but use your imagination):

One of my most favorite veggies, sliced up all purrrty and ready to be baked into fries? I could not resist. Now, at $2.69 for a 12oz bag, this clearly was going against my penny-pinching instincts when compared to the 4-lb bag, but this night, my laziness over-ruled. Over-priced and pre-sliced it was. I salivated all the way through the 4-mile long line (JK, it was probs more like just 1 mile… JK again, but anyone who’s been to TJs in Union Square gets me on this one, right NYC people??).

Pssssst, here comes the Sweet Potato Fries “Recipe”……..

Once home, I dumped all the fries in a bowl, added in 1 tablespoon coconut oil and a few sprinkles each of salt and peppa, tossed ‘em up, and laid them out on a greased and tin-foiled pan…

Baked them at 400° for 20 minutes, flipped/tossed ‘em around on the tray a little, and back in the hot zone for another 20. During the last 10 minutes of the cooking I prepared myself this simple (and giant) salad…

TJ’s Sienna Salad blend (my fave! butter lettuce, radiccio, endives, nom nom) topped with some cut up cherry tomatoes, cauliflower florets, and toasted sunflower seeds, then doused in Annie’s Organic Goddess dressing and a few cracks of black pep. I love extra black pep on a salad, it really adds a certain somethin’ somethin’!

Here’s what the fries looked like when all done:

I was so hungry I ate half the tray before remembering I needed to take the pic! Oh well. The other half got saved for lunch the next day. All in all a super easy and super delicious dinner! This just goes to show that eating well is not only yummy, but can be SO EASY! Sure, it’s not the most financially efficient way to go, but when you just want something quick and fast but still healthy, grab some pre-cut veggies! Way better than grabbing a frozen meal, and usually takes about as long to prepare! These sweet taters obvi being an exception as they take a little longer to cook than most other veggies would, but well worth the wait let me tell ya. And you can catch up on some trashy TV while they bake away on their own.

So one last bit of “food for thought” before I wrap this one up. For non-foodies out there, you may be wondering what is this coconut oil that I just tossed my sweet potatoes in, and that appeared in Sunday’s granola? Well my friends you would not be alone in your musings, as I myself had no idea that coconut oil existed until a few short months ago. But oh my gosh am I glad I know now! Coconut oil is another healthy oil, and can be used as a more sweet alternative to EVOO (extra virgin olive oil). Since sweet potatoes are, as their name implies, inherently sweet, I used this oil with them to bring out and enhance that sweetness even further. So very delicious. I also use coconut oil a lot in baking, in place of where canola oil or butter would stand in traditional recipes. It can sometimes impart a coconut-y flavor in your baked goods, depending how strong your other ingredients are, so if you hate coconut it’s probably not for you. But I personally love that little bit of character it adds!

Coconut oil gets touted in a lot of health circles as being a “SUPER” healthy oil, with some crazy claims like helping consumers lose weight, increase immunity, increase metabolism, and reduced risk of cholesterol, heart disease, and diabetes. However, others are more skeptical of its benefits as coconut oil is composed of 90% saturated fat. While this fact seems scary, even those who question coconut oil do admit that these saturated fats are not as bad as other saturated fats, as those in coconut oil are medium-chain triglycerides, which assimilate better into the body than the long-chain fatty acids which make up most other saturated fats (read: animal based saturated fats, like those in red meat and dairy… bad news). Also, most of the saturated fat is lauric acid, which is believed by some to help the body fight viruses and bacteria. My feeling on this whole showdown is that I would prefer to ingest some healthier saturated fats over the less-healthy saturated fats and SUPER un-healthy trans-fats that you get in butter. Also, coconut oil contains NO cholesterol, whereas butter does. So that’s why I choose to use coconut oil as a substitute over butter, but keeping in mind its saturated fat content, I still try to use it in moderation, so I don’t ever drench anything in it and only small amounts are used in recipes. Even on a super coconut-oily day I doubt I have even 2 tablespoons, and as I don’t get too much saturated fat anywhere else in my diet I think this is totally legit. Each person is different though, so be sure to consult with a physician if you are unsure.

So, with all that said, a lot of my recipes will incorporate coconut oil, so if you plan on following my recipes I suggest you get some ASAP! I buy mine here as they have pretty good prices, so I got some while also ordering my Sun Warrior Brown Rice Protein Powder (which I also use in lots of recipes to sneak in some extra protein! still haven’t totally kicked the protein-seeker habit ). Good prices + $5 flat rate UPS shipping that gets to NYC in 1 day = total score. And no, these links are not affiliated to me, I’m not getting any money for promoting that site, it’s just the one I personally use myself and I like the service so figured I’d pass along the good word!

Okay that’s all for now! More coconut oil enhanced deliciousness coming up soon.

xoxo

Hilary

Nutritional Facts

Sweet Potato Fries

Svg Size: 6 ounces. Svgs per Recipe: 2. Calories: 182, Total Fat: 7.2g, Sat. Fat: 6.3g, Carbs: 28.4g, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 9.2g, Protein: 2.2g

*Please Note* All calorie and nutritional information is approximate and based on the exact ingredients I used. Any changes or substitutions to the recipe will result in changes to nutritional information. As measurements and nutrients vary from ingredient to ingredient, the exact accuracy of this data cannot be guaranteed.

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