(Serves 8)

Raw garlic and cayenne pepper and a surprising kick to this healthier version of a summertime favorite.

INGREDIENTS:

·         1 tablespoon canola oil or 1-2 tablespoons distilled water

·         1 cup chopped onions

·         2 medium green bell peppers, coarsely chopped

·         1/2 cup water

·         1 16-ounce can tomato sauce

·         1 teaspoon dried mustard

·         1-2 tablespoons molasses

·         4 cups prepared beans, you could try pinto beans on their own, or a mixture of beans

·         1 tablespoon chili powder

·         1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or more to taste

·         2-3 cloves crushed or minced garlic

DIRECTIONS:

Heat the oil and gently sauté the onions and bell pepper for 5 minutes.

Add the remaining ingredients (except for garlic, chili powder and cayenne) and simmer for 20 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in garlic, chili powder and cayenne.

Serve over whole wheat or multi grain rolls, would make a great filling for a pita pocket, too.

I am on a great Yahoo Group for healthy eating. This came today. Sounds great!

Tomato and Sage  with Pasta 


For 4 servings:
 
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 T. olive oil or cooking oil
1 1/2 lb. roma tomatoes, peeled and quartered
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. black pepper
1 small green or yellow sweet pepper, cut into thin strips
1 T. snipped fresh sage or
1 t. dried sage, crushed
4 oz. uncooked linguine or fettuccine
 
 
1. For sauce, in a medium saucepan, cook the garlic in hot oil for 30 seconds. Stir in the tomatoes, salt, and black pepper. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 12 minutes. Stir in sweet pepper and sage. Simmer, uncovered, about 5 minutes more or until desired consistency.
 
2. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions, except omit any oil or salt. Drain. Return pasta to saucepan. Add sauce to cooked pasta; toss gently to coat.

Better Homes and Gardens Easy Diabetic Meals 2002

Check out this link to beat the summer heat.

Making Life Groovy Again

Rhubarb and Strawberry Pie (Diabetic)

Since summer is almost here and it is time for strawberry and rhubarb, I wanted to send this recipe in. It is a Diabetic recipe and I know you do not get a lot of these and they are just as good made this way. Or you can make it like you normally would.

Ingredients

• 3 cups, cut in 1 inch pieces (or 1 pkg frozen unsweetened rhubarb, thawed and undrained)
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup flour
• 3 Tbsp. cornstarch
• 2 Tbsp. Lemon juice
• 3 cups sliced strawberries
• 12 1/2 tsp. Equal Measure or 40 packets Equal sweetener or 1 2/3 cups Equal spoonful
• 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

Directions

Use favorite recipe for pie crust for a 9 inch crust. Bake in pre heated oven as required by your recipe. Cool on wire rack.

For the whole pie to be baked, oven should be set at 350 degrees F. Add rhubarb into a large covered saucepan over medium heat until rhubarb releases liquid (about 5 minutes). Combine water, flour, cornstarch and lemon juice. Stir into rhubarb and heat to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered, stirring constantly until mixture is thickened and rhubarb is almost tender (3-5 minutes longer). Stir in strawberries and cook 2-3 minutes longer. Stir Equal and nutmeg into fruit mix.

Spoon into pie crust, spreading evenly. Bake in oven until bubbly about 40 minutes. Cover edge of crust with aluminum foil if browning too quickly. Cool on wire rack, serve warm. Enjoy!

Dietary exchange:

• 1-starch/Bread
• 1 Fruit
• 1 Fat

Apple Muffins

French paradox: Why U.S. is fatter

WASHINGTON (UPI) -- The French may not get as fat as Americans despite cheese, pate and pastries, because they use internal cues to stop eating, a U.S. and French study found.

Senior author Brian Wansink of Cornell University, executive director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, and Pierre Chandon, of INSEAD, a business school in France, said the French use internal cues -- such as no longer feeling hungry -- to stop eating.

Americans tend to use external cues -- such as whether their plate is clean, they have run out of their beverage or the TV show they're watching is over, Wansink said.

The study, an analysis of questionnaires from 133 Parisians and 145 Chicagoans about how they decide when to stop eating, may explain why body mass index varies across people and potentially across cultures, the study said.

"Furthermore, we have found that the heavier a person is -- French or American -- the more they rely on external cues to tell them to stop eating and the less they rely on whether they felt full," Wansink said in a statement.

The findings are published in the journal Obesity and are being presented this month at an the Winter Marketing Educators conference.

Click on the title below to go to the website this is taken from. There is a great list of root veggies with information and pictures of each.

Root Vegetable Primer: An Underground Guide

From the exotic black radish to the sweet red beet, root vegetables are warming, rich in flavor and economical. They are incredibly versatile and especially good from October to March when our bodies crave hearty fare.

In general, root vegetables are low in calories, with about 10 to 60 per half-cup serving, and virtually no fat. Depending on the vegetable — and whether it has an edible peel — they are fair to moderate sources of fiber, generally with 1 to 2.5 grams per half-cup serving. Some root vegetables also provide vitamin C, potassium, folate and iron. The deeper the root vegetable's color, the more it contains antioxidant-loaded phytonutrients. Deep-orange carrots are well known for their beta carotene (which forms vitamin A); ruby red beets deliver phytochemicals good for liver health and purple potatoes are loaded with anthocyanins, pigments that act as antioxidants.

Sweet Potato Ginger Soup

Adapted from The Chopra Center Cookbook by Deepak Chopra (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.)

Eating a rainbow of colors isn't so easy in the winter, but here is a soup that is as sweet and pungent, as it is colorful. More accurately, the soup will be as colorful as the sweet potatoes that you choose, which come in an array whose colors include red, orange, purple, yellow and white. With the added benefit of only 3 grams of fat per serving, this soup is a winner for your health.

SIMPLE SOLUTION: 

INGREDIENTS
1 teaspoon ghee or olive oil
1 pinch red chili flakes
1 cup chopped leeks or onions
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger or 1 teaspoon powdered ginger
2 tablespoons tamari or Bragg Liquid Aminos
5 cups sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 teaspoons coriander
1 teaspoon garam masala
6 cups vegetable stock
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

Heat the oil in a soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the red chili flakes, leeks, ginger, and aminos. Saute for two or three minutes. Add the sweet potatoes and sauté until they are well coated and begin to brown slightly. Add the coriander and garam masala. Saute another two minutes, stirring frequently.

Add the vegetable stock to cover the sweet potatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer until the sweet potatoes are tender. Blend with a hand blender or food processor into a smooth consistency, adding more stock as necessary. Reheat before serving and garnish with the chopped cilantro.

Serves 4.

Restorative Roasted Garlic Soup

Adapted from The Border Cookbook, by Cheryl Alters Jamison and Bill Jamison (Harvard Common Press, 1995).

Some recipes for garlic soup are so laden with cream that the salubrious effects of the garlic are certainly thwarted. In this recipe for roasted garlic soup, you will find no cream. No dairy at all in fact. Instead, a creative combination of flavors with a Mexican spin that is as perky as it is restorative.

SIMPLE SOLUTION:  Roasting and simmering mellow the garlic's sharpness and enhance its underlying sweetness.

This is one delicious way to boost your immune system so you can avoid the flu, or to nourish yourself if you've caught it.

INGREDIENTS
3 whole heads of garlic
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, preferably peanut
1 medium onion, sliced thin
8 cups vegetable stock
1 to 2 dried or canned chipotle chiles
1/2 teaspoon salt, or more to taste
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted and ground
Juice of 1/2 to 1 lime
Toasted thin flour tortilla strips and sliced avocado, for garnish (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Coat garlic with a thin film of the oil, reserving the remaining oil. Place garlic in a shallow pan and bake it until very soft, about 45 minutes. When garlic is cool enough to handle, peel all the cloves and reserve them.

3. Pour 1 tablespoon of the oil into a large saucepan or Dutch oven and warm over medium heat. Add the onion to the oil and saute until it's softened and lightly colored. Transfer the mixture to a blender and add the reserved garlic. Puree, adding a little stock if necessary to blend the mixture.

4. Add remaining oil to the saucepan and warm it over medium-high heat. Pour in the blender mixture, being careful of any splatters, and saute it until it just begins to dry out and color. Add the rest of the stock, the chipotle, salt, and cumin, and reduce the heat to medium. Simmer the soup for 25 to 30 minutes, remove it from the heat, and add the lime juice.

5. Divide the tortilla strips and avocado between the bowls and pour the hot soup over them. Serve immediately.

Serves 6 to 8.

Good advice from How Things Work

Fruits come in all shapes, sizes and tastes,
and best of all are naturally prepackaged.

The good news: Whether you have type 1 or type 2 diabetes, there's nothing that should stop you from fitting fresh summer fruits into your eating plan. Not only are fruits delicious -- they're low in fat and calories, packed with vitamins and minerals, and they can satisfy your sweet tooth. Many types of fruits even make easy, portable snacks. The key is to be strategic about eating fruit.

Rule #1: Opt for pieces of fruit instead of fruit juice.

In its natural, fresh state, fruit does contain sugar. However, the amount of sugar in most fresh fruit is relatively small, especially when compared to fruit juices. As an added benefit, the sugar in most fresh fruits comes "wrapped" in fiber, which lessens its effect on your blood glucose.

Rule #2: Choose proper portions.

If you chug down a 12- to 16-ounce container of juice, you may not realize you've had 3 to 4 fruit exchanges and many more calories than you wanted. With pieces of fruit, portion control is easier. Keep in mind that an "average" apple or pear in the supermarket today is oversized compared to fruits a few years ago and can top 100 calories. Cut large fruits in half, or count a whole piece as 2 fruit exchanges.

Rule #3: Aim for a wide variety of fruit choices.

Eating different types of fruits provides your body with benefits from the broadest range of nutrients. Some of the best, lowest-sugar fruit choices include melons such as cantaloupe, honeydew, and watermelon; berries such as strawberries, raspberries, black­berries, and blueberries; and grapefruit, apricots, peaches, pears, oranges, plums, and mangos.

Tips for Adding Fruits to Your Diet

Following are easy ways to enjoy summer's fresh fruit:

• Top cold cereal with sliced peaches; cook apricots in hot cereal.
• Keep a plastic container full of cut-up fruit in your refrigerator. Eat a serving at breakfast or for a snack topped with plain nonfat yogurt.
• Top salads with pieces of pineapple, mango, kiwi, or apples.
• Take a few pieces of fruit with you to work, so it's easy to eat a piece at lunch or for a snack. It's also a great strategy for keeping a ravenous appetite at bay on the way home.
• Toss fruit into entrées: Add a few slices of pineapple to a stir-fry or make-your-own pizza; fresh cranberries or peaches in chicken; or apricots or apples in pork dishes.
• Combine fruit with vegetables: crushed pineapple with coleslaw; a low-fat Waldorf salad with apples, raisins, walnuts, and celery served over romaine lettuce.
• Grill fruit on skewers and serve as dessert with ginger snaps or vanilla wafers, or as part of the main course.
• Process strawberries, raspberries, or blueberries in a blender to make a salad dressing or a topping for frozen yogurt or pound cake. Create a cooling berry soup as a first course. Complement a main dish with fruit: pineapple slices with ham or low-sugar cranberry sauce with chicken.

If you want to take advantage of some of those great summer fruits and do some cooking with them, see:

• Fruit Recipes
• Apple Recipes
• Banana Recipes
• Berry Recipes
• Other Fruit Recipes

The Twelve Tips of Christmas
Nutrition Associates of Montana; Billings, MT & St. Peter's Hospital

You don't have to overhaul your diet completely to save calories
during the Holidays. Make a few changes in recipes and follow some
of the suggestions below and you won't have to just dream of
a "light" Christmas!

1. THERE ARE NO FORBIDDEN FOODS - As soon as you label a
food 'forbidden' or `not allowed', that food becomes exactly what
you want! You can enjoy any food, especially your favorite recipes,
in moderation this holiday season.

2. CHOICE MEANS SELF-CONTROL AT HOLIDAY PARTIES - By carefully
looking over all the food, you can decide what you want the most.
Take a small portion of those special foods, eat them slowly and
enjoy!

3. EXERCISE IS THE HOLIDAY'S MOST IMPORTANT ACTIVITY - Making
time for exercise will keep your metabolism running in high gear.
Plan family activities, like a holiday walk, cross country skiing or
ice skating. That gets everyone away from the television and the
refrigerator.

4. THE JOY OF THE HOLIDAYS IS THE WARMTH OF CELEBRATING WITH
FAMILY AND FRIENDS - Focusing on the people and the celebration will
make food less important. Talk as much as you can at parties. It
is difficult, unattractive, and impolite to eat while talking.

5. SHARE THE GIFT OF HEALTH - You can make many interesting and
fun low-fat treats for holiday gifts. Or consider a subscription to
a low-fat cooking magazine such as "Cooking Light", a low-fat
cookbook or some exercise clothes.

6. FAMILIES CAN ESTABLISH NEW, HEALTHIER TRADITIONS - Even if
your family always insists on piles of rich goodies, they can learn
to appreciate lighter fare or totally new non-food traditions.
Young children love being part of new activities, like the nightly
ritual of a holiday wish candle or an Advent calendar.

7. PLANNING AHEAD IS THE KEY TO SUCCESS IN DEALING WITH HOLIDAY
EVENTS –
If you arrive at a party hungry, you are setting yourself up for
disaster. Always try to eat something light but filling, like an
apple and string cheese. While you are filling up before the party
on healthy things, make your `game plan' for the party.

8. LIGHT COOKING IS A DELICIOUS WAY TO ENJOY THE SEASON AND
LIFELONG HEALTH - You can find many wonderful new recipes in
magazines, cookbooks and on the internet. Your own family favorites
can be adapted by decreasing the fat, sugar and salt. You'll be
surprised on how easy it is.

9. HOLIDAY BEVERAGES BENEFIT FROM THE LIGHT TOUCH ALSO - Fill
up on carbonated mineral water; bubbles always make you feel
fuller. Or try making egg nog with fewer egg yolks, egg substitutes
and low-fat milk. Wine spritzer, "light" wine coolers and mixed
drinks made with diet tonic or soda are also good choices. Or skip
the alcohol altogether, especially if you are driving – there are
lots of low-calorie, non-alcoholic drinks these days too!

10. CREATE A DISTANCE FROM FOOD - Send leftovers home with your
guests. Move around at a party and keep your back to the food.
Once you decide you are satisfied, put away your utensils and go to
another room.

11. EXPERIMENT WITH THE "FIVE MINUTE RULE" - When you have the
urge to eat something, tell yourself that you can have it if you
really want it. Then wait five minutes to check out whether or not
you really still do want to eat.

12. ABOVE ALL ELSE – REMEMBER THAT NO ONE PIECE OF ANYTHING OR
EVEN ANY ONE PARTY CAN CAUSE YOU TO GAIN ONE POUND - You have to
eat 3500 extra calories to gain one pound of fat. Never tell
yourself that you've "blown it", or you will just want to eat more.

Holidays are a special time of year. You eat differently at this
time of year – so don't compare the way you eat on holidays to the
way you normally eat. Take a moderate approach – enjoy the social,
family and holiday traditions, but in a healthy way!

Find some time to browse at Healthy Eatin' Recipes 2003 + at:
www.recipecircus.com/recipes/Phyllis_aka_Filus

Christopher Columbus and his shipmates mentioned it in the records of their fourth voyage to the New World. Members of the expedition were fed boiled sweet potatoes and compared the taste to that of chestnuts. Today, we know that the sweet potato is among the best vegetables you can eat because of its nutritional makeup. One cup of cooked sweet potato provides about 30 milligrams (50,000 IU) of beta-carotene. (It would take 23 cups of broccoli to provide the same amount!)

And, one medium-size sweet potato contains only 135 to 155 calories, so please add them to your holiday menu this year.

To read more about the sweet potato and find holiday recipes and craft ideas, visit our Holiday Feasts, Folklore, and Fun page.

Sincerely,
The Old Farmer’s Almanac

P.S. Forward this e-mail message to a friend. It’s a quick and easy way to let someone know all the news at Almanac.com.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A SWEET POTATO AND A YAM?

Several decades ago when orange flesh sweet potatoes were introduced in the southern United States producers and shippers desired to distinguish them from the more traditional white flesh types. The African word "nyami" referring to the starchy, edible root of the Dioscorea genus of plants was adopted in its English form, "yam". Yams in the U.S. are actually sweet potatoes with relatively moist texture and orange flesh. Although the terms are generally used interchangeably, the U.S. Department of Agriculture requires that the label "yam" always be accompanied by "sweet potato." The following information outlines several differences between sweet potatoes and yams.

The versatile sweet potato is ideal fare for the health - conscious food consumer. With the ever-growing interest in health and natural foods, the sweet potato is quickly finding its place in the family weekly diet the year around. The sweet potato blends with herbs, spices and flavorings producing delicious dishes of all types. From processed baby foods to the main dishes, casseroles, salads, breads and desserts, sweet potatoes add valuable, appetizing nutrients and color to any meal.

As a main dish or prepared as a dessert, the sweet potato is a nutritious and economical food. One baked sweet potato (3 1/2 ounce serving) provides over 8,800 IU of vitamin A or about twice the recommended daily allowance, yet it contains only 141 calories making it valuable for the weight watcher. This nutritious vegetable provides 42 percent of the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for vitamin C, 6 percent of the RDA for calcium, 10 percent of the RDA for iron, and 8 percent of the RDA for thiamine for healthy adults. It is low in sodium and is a good source of fiber and other important vitamins and minerals. A complex carbohydrate food source, it provides beta carotene which may be a factor in reducing the risk of certain cancers.

For the most food value, choose sweet potatoes of a deep orange color.

When buying sweet potatoes, select sound, firm roots. Handle them carefully to prevent bruising. Storage in a dry, unrefrigerated bin kept at 55-60 degrees F. is best. DO NOT REFRIGERATE, because temperatures below 55 degrees F. will chill this tropical vegetable giving it a hard core and an undesirable taste when cooked.

Wash cured sweet potatoes and bake or boil until slightly soft. If boiled, drain immediately. Thoroughly cool the baked or boiled sweet potatoes. Wrap individually (skins left on) in freezer film or foil and place in plastic freezer bags. Seal, label and freeze.

Most sweet potato dishes freeze well. Save time and energy by making a sweet potato dish to serve and one to store in the freezer.

Helpful Hints:

• Bake a large pan of sweet potatoes at the same time. This saves time and energy. Freeze for later use or store the sweet potatoes in the refrigerator for 7 to 10 days.
• Freshly dug or uncured sweet potatoes are better boiled and used in dishes that include fruits or syrups. The curing process makes the sweet potato sweeter and improves the cooking quality.
• Canned or frozen sweet potatoes may be substituted for the fresh form in any recipe calling for cooked sweet potatoes as the starting point. Canned sweet potatoes are generally smaller in diameter because of their better canning qualities. Six to eight canned sweet potatoes are approximately the equivalent of four medium fresh sweet potatoes. One can use the measurement relationship below as a guideline.
  
  

• To reduce calories in your favorite sweet potato recipe, experiment with the recipe by reducing the sugar or fat by using the next lower measure on the measuring cup. For example, when a recipe calls for 1 cup of sugar or fat, reduce the amount to 3/4 cup. For 3/4 cup, reduce it to 2/3 cup, and so on.
• Sweet potatoes make an attractive house plant. To grow a sweet potato vine, use a jar with an opening that will support it. Place the sweet potato in a jar of water with its narrow end down. Put the jar in a warm, dark place and keep the jar filled with water. New roots willstart to grow, and in about 10 days, the stem will start to grow. As soon as this happens, put the jar in a sunny window. As the vine grows, it can be left to trail or trained to climb.

Sweet potatoes can be baked, boiled, fried, broiled, canned or frozen. They can also be cooked in the microwave oven.

Before cooking sweet potatoes, scrub skin and trim off any bruised or woody portions.

If you are cutting calories, serve a plain sweet potato, cut down on margarine or butter and use skim milk or unsweetened orange juice as liquid when you prepare mashed sweet potatoes.

Remember, it is what you add to the sweet potato that increases calories.
1 small, baked in skin ...............................141 calories
3 1/2 ounces, candied................................168 calories
3 1/2 ounces, canned, syrup pack.........114 calories

A freshly baked or boiled sweet potato is delicious and nutritious. You need only to add a pat of butter or serve it plain. Don't feel that you must add high-calorie ingredients to make the sweet potato acceptable.

Rub a little fat or oil over clean and dry sweet potatoes of uniform size. Place on baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees F. until soft, 30 to 50 minutes, depending on size. Sweet potatoes that are greased before baking peel easily.

Boiled Sweet Potatoes: Drop clean sweet potatoes into enough boiling water to cover them. Cover pan and return water to boiling as quickly as possible. Lower heat and cook until tender. Drain at once. Peel and season with butter and salt to taste. Use 1 medium sweet potato per person. Boiled sweet potatoes can be used for pies, cookies, casseroles, glazed, candied or frozen.

Deep Fat French Fried Sweet Potatoes: Pare and cut into length-wise strips, about 1/2 inch thick. Heat oil in fryer to 365 degrees F. Keep fry basket in fat as it heats.

Raise basket and add enough sweet potato strips to cover bottom of basket. Lower basket slowly into hot fat. If fat bubbles much, lift and lower basket until bubbling subsides. Fry until sweet potato strips are brown and tender. Remove from hot oil and drain onto paper towels. Sprinkle with salt, if desired. Spread sweet potatoes on baking sheet and place in a warm oven while others are being cooked.

Charcoal Broiled Sweet Potatoes: Rub a little fat over clean sweet potato skins. Wrap double foil loosely around sweet potatoes. Cook in coals for about 45 minutes. Keep warm on edge of grill.

Skillet Sweet Potatoes: In large deep skillet, heat 1 1/2 inch deep vegetable oil to 365 degrees F. Add sweet potato strips to cover bottom of skillet; fry 5 minutes or until brown and tender. Remove from hot oil and drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with salt or powdered sugar.

Microwave Sweet Potatoes: For best results, choose uniform size sweet potatoes. Pierce washed sweet potatoes with a fork. Place on paper towel on shelf of microwave oven 1 inch apart. Turn sweet potatoes over and rearrange after half of cooking time. Cook on HIGH power level. Cooking time will vary, depending on the number of sweet potatoes.

Sweet potatoes may still feel firm when done. Let stand 5 minutes to soften.

Candied Sweet Potatoes

6 medium sweet potatoes
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
3 tablespoons butter

Scrub sweet potatoes thoroughly. Drop them in enough boiling salted water to cover sweet potatoes. Cover pan. Lower heat and cook 15 to 20 minutes. Drain; peel sweet potatoes and cut into 1/2 inch slices. Put into buttered baking dish. Combine sugar, water and butter. Boil 2-3 minutes, then pour over cooked, sliced sweet potatoes. Bake at 350 degrees F. for about 30 minutes or until lightly brown. Spoon syrup over sweet potatoes several times while baking. Lemon juice or lemon slices on top of sweet potatoes while baking will improve flavor and help retain their bright color. Yield: 6 servings

SWEET POTATO BUTTER

2 Garlic cloves
Freshly ground Pepper to taste
2 Sweet Potatoes
Fine Sea Salt to taste
2 medium Carrots
2 Tablespoons chopped Parsley
1/2 to 3/4 Cup Vegetable broth
2 Tablespoons chopped Cilantro (Optional)
1 Tablespoon extra-virgin Olive Oil

Put unpeeled garlic cloves on aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees F. in oven or toaster oven for about 10 minutes, until soft.

Microwave or boil unpeeled potatoes until done. Peel carrots, cut into large chunks and microwave or boil until soft.

Drain carrots, peel potatoes and put both in a food processor. Squeeze in the baked garlic. Add 1/2 cup broth and blend. With motor running, add oil and keep blending, adding more broth until puree is fairly smooth and full.

Add salt and pepper to taste. Dip can be made as long as a day in advance, covered and refrigerated. Bring to room temperature for serving and stir in the optional herbs right before serving with raw vegetables and bread sticks.

Makes 6 servings.

SWEET POTATO PECAN PIE (Makes one 9-inch pie)

1 (9 - inch) unbaked pastry shell
1 pound (2 medium) sweet potatoes (yams!), cooked and peeled
1/4 cup margarine or butter
1 (14 - ounce) can Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk, (NOT evaporated milk)
1 teaspoon grated orange rind
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
Pecan Topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In large mixer bowl, beat hot sweet potatoes with margarine until smooth. Add remaining ingredients except pastry shell and Pecan Topping; mix well. Pour into pastry shell. Bake 30 minutes. Remove from oven; spoon Pecan Topping evenly over top. bake 20 to 25 minutes longer or until golden brown. Cool. Serve warm or chilled. Refrigerate leftovers.

Pecan Topping: In small mixer bowl, combine 1 egg, 3 tablespoons dark corn syrup, 3 tablespoons firmly packed light brown sugar, 1 tablespoon margarine or butter, melted, and teaspoon maple flavoring; mix well. Stir in 1 cup chopped pecans.

SWEET POTATO NUTRITION

Sweet Potato Ranks Number One In Nutrition

According to nutritionists at the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), the single most important dietary change for most people, including children, would be to replace fatty foods with foods rich in complex carbohydrates, such as sweet potatoes.

CSPI ranked the sweet potato number one in nutrition of all vegetables. With a score of 184, the sweet potato outscored the next highest vegetable by more than 100 points. Points were given for content of dietary fiber, naturally occurring sugars and complex carbohydrates, protein, vitamins A and C, iron and calcium. Points were deducted for fat content (especially saturated fat), sodium, cholesterol, added refined sugars and caffeine. The higher the score, the more nutritious the food.

Sweet potato baked 184
Potato, baked 83
Spinach 76
Kale 55
Mixed Vegetables 52
Broccoli 52
Winter Squash, Baked 44
Brussels Sprouts 37
Cabbage, Raw 34
Green Peas 33
Carrot 30
Okra 30
Corn on the Cob 27
Tomato 27
Green Pepper 26
Cauliflower 25
Artichoke 24
Romaine Lettuce 24

The Center for Science in the Public Interest, Washington D.C. copyright 1992


The reasons the sweet potato took first place? Dietary fiber, naturally occurring sugars, complex carbohydrates, protein, vitamins A and C, iron and calcium. The sweet potato received a score of 184; the vegetable ranked in second place was more than 100 points behind with a score of 83.

The numbers for the nutritional sweet potato speak for themselves: almost twice the recommended daily allowance of vitamin A, 42 percent of the recommendation for vitamin C, four times the RDA for beta carotene, and, when eaten with the skin, sweet potatoes have more fiber than oatmeal. All these benefits with only about 130 to 160 calories!

Sweet Potato Nutrition Facts
(for one medium size sweet potato)
Calories 130
Fat 0.39 g
Protein 2.15 g
Net Carbs 31.56 g
Dietary Fiber 3.9 g
Calcium 28.6 mg
Sodium 16.9 mg
Potassium 265.2 mg
Folate 18.2 mcg
Vitamin C 29.51 mg 
Vitamin A 26081.9 IU
Source: US Department of Agriculture

Among root vegetables, sweet potatoes offer the lowest glycemic index rating. That’s because the sweet potato digests slowly, causing a gradual rise in blood sugar so you feel satisfied longer. It’s time to move sweet potatoes to the "good" carb list. Many of the most popular diets these days have already.

SWEET POTATO NUTRITIONAL ASPECTS AND POPULAR DIETS

South Beach Diet
For the nearly 12 million Americans counting carbohydrates as part of the Atkins or South Beach plans, the glycemic index plays a critical part in determining acceptable foods. The index ranks how quickly the body converts carbohydrates into sugar; the lower the glycemic index in a food, the less it will cause weight gain. Sweet potatoes rank significantly lower than white potatoes in the glycemic index, which explains why both carb-counting diets encourage substituting yams for Idaho potatoes. Sweet potatoes are introduced in the later phases of these diets as an acceptable food because they are nutrient-rich.

Atkins Diet
The Atkins Diet recommends introducing 10 grams of carbs in Phase 3 of the diet plan. Sweet potatoes have 10 grams of carbohydrates for every 1/4 cup. Sweet potatoes are on the safe list as a great substitute for other starches such as rice, potatoes and corn.

Sugarbusters Diet
The popular "Sugarbusters" diet that swept the nation is also a strong advocate of including sweet potatoes in a healthy diet. The Sugarbusters diet recommends sweet potatoes as a great substitute for other foods high in sugar and carbohydrates such as rice, pasta and corn.
One of the Sugarbusters book's authors reports that the part of a carrot that's healthy is the beta carotene necessary for visual activity and needed for the retina that's found in the pigment, not the fleshy part of the carrot that's full of sugar. You can also get the beta carotene from sweet potatoes, which are not full of sugar.

Louisiana Sweet Potato Commission, Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry - www.sweetpotato.org