Nutritious, Calorie Conscious, and Delicious!

Sweet potatoes are nutritious and they can be delicious. They are a great source of carotenoids (such as beta-carotene an antioxidant and precursor of vitamin A), vitamin C, potassium, and dietary fiber.

All you need is a little bit of know-how to easily prepare a variety of sweet potato dishes. You can bake them, mash them, and then mix in some unsweetened applesauce or crushed pineapple for extra flavor, sweetness, and moisture. Or you might steam some chunks of peeled sweet potato until tender and then mash them up along with a little orange juice.

One of my favorite ways to prepare sweet potatoes is to make baked sweet potato fries. I’ve got a short video today to show you just how easy it can be to make your own baked fries.

Baking is the key to keeping the calorie count in a reasonable range. Even so you will want to go easy with the oil and limit your portion of fries. About 1/2 of a sweet potato is enough for a serving of these fries (about 130-150 calories) but you may find it hard to stop eating once you get started!

Experiment with your own seasonings till you find the mix you like best. See if you can come up with a good mix that limits the salt. Americans as a general rule get far too much salt in the diet.

Enjoy the baked sweet potato fries!

I found a great recipe to make your own instant oatmeal and tweaked it a little to make it even better. It’s more nutritious and tastier than the store bought and only takes 10-15 minutes to prepare almost a week’s worth of servings.

You’ll need to have some old fashioned oats, oat bran, brown sugar, and cinnamon to put the mix together.  If you prefer, you can use quick cooking oats. The finished mix is divided into six small ziplock bags. When I prepare a single bowl of oatmeal I use 1/3 cup water and 2/3 cup nonfat milk.

Homemade Instant Oatmeal

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients:

2 cups of old fashioned oats (or quick oats)

6 Tbsp. brown sugar

3/8 cup oat bran

1/2 Tbsp. cinnamon (You may want to experiment with how much cinnamon would be the right amount for you. Cinnamon enhances the sweetness of sugar.)

1. Measure all the ingredients into a bowl and mix well.

2. Evenly divide the mix into 6 small ziplock bags (approximately 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp. but this will depend on how accurately you measure the initial ingredients.)

To Prepare:

Add the contents of one bag of Homemade Instant Oatmeal to a microwave safe bowl. Add 1/3 cup nonfat milk + 1/3 cup water. Stir to mix. Heat on medium high (power 6-8) for about 3 minutes. If the oatmeal is of the right consistency for you (thick enough) then remove from the microwave and add the remaining 1/3 cup nonfat milk.

Calories for one serving: 236

For a special treat add 1/2 cup or more of fresh blueberries before you heat the oatmeal in the microwave. This makes an awesome breakfast. (Works with frozen blueberries also but the skin tends to be a little tough.) The total calorie count should be less than 300. Even so it makes a complete and very filling meal!