The wonders of a sweet potato!

I love sweet potatoes... I can't help it. I love them mashed, baked or 'fried', whipped with cream cheese or spiced with chili powder. (My least favorite way is if there is a marshmallow anywhere near it, its sweet enough as is!) I even have a recipe where I incorporate sweet potato into a chocolate dessert! Below I have three easy and healthy ways to add this wonderful food onto your plate. The health benefits of the sweet potato include beta-carotene, vitamins B and C, iron, calcium, potassium, zinc and much more. Its a complex carb that is fairly easy for your stomach to digest and its full of fiber. So this wonderful sweet tuber has cancer - fighting properties, is easily digested and is full of many other nutritious vitamins and minerals, why would you ever want a white potato again! (Just kidding, I love white potatoes too!) The point is that a sweet potato should not just be baked and mashed into brown-sugar and marshmallow sweetened yams at Thanksgiving, it should be incorporated much more into your diet!

Cream cheese whipped sweet potatoes

three medium sweet potatoes roughly the same size

1/2 cup of low fat cream cheese

(optional: 1/4 cup chopped and toasted walnuts)

Wash and dry the potatoes and wrap in tin-foil and bake at 400 for 50-60 minutes. When they have cooled slightly put all the ingredients in a large bowl and using a hand mixer on medium to high speed, mix everything together until it becomes lighter in color and has a lighter texture. Serve immediately. Serves 4.

Sweet potato 'fries'

Preheat the oven to 375

Wash/scrub two medium sweet potatoes and then slice them into long rectangles like french fries. Leave the skin on, its a very highly nutritious part. Toss them in olive oil and spread out on a sheet pan. Sprinkle the tops with salt, pepper, and red chili powder. Then bake for 10 to 15 minutes, flip them over and bake them for another 10 minutes, until they are soft but the edges are starting to crisp up. Then enjoy! (two potatoes serves 4 people)

Guiltless Warm Flourless Chocolate Cakes (courtesy of http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-specials/guiltless-warm-flourless-chocolate-cake-recipe/index.html)

Ingredients: Cooking spray 6 ounces 70 percent dark chocolate 1 tablespoon orange zest 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 very ripe bananas 1/4 cup roasted sweet potato 1/4 cup honey 1 whole egg 3 egg whites

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place 8 (4-ounce) ramekins or custard cups on a large baking sheet. Spray with cooking spray and set aside. Combine chocolate, orange zest and vanilla extract in a medium bowl over hot boiling water. Whisk until chocolate is completely melted. Puree bananas, sweet potato and honey until smooth. Remove the melted chocolate from heat and fold over banana puree and 1 whole egg. Mix well. Whip the egg whites until soft peak. Slowly fold egg whites into chocolate mixture. Spoon mix into ramekins, filling them almost to the top. Bake for approximately 6 to 7 minutes, remove and serve. Warm center of the chocolate should be soft.

Enjoy!