Tag Archives: macadamia nuts

Afternoon Snack: Sweet Potato with a Dash of This and That

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DSCF0005Yes. this is a picture of a decimated sweet potato skin. This is what I do to food the second I return home from work.  First there’s the traffic, time to contemplate just how hungry I am, and then there is the shoveling sustenance into mouth.

Often I crave sweet at these ravenous moments.  My after work snacks frequently interfere with my dinner appetite, are usually calorie-laden, and are almost always nutrition-light.  But, and here’s the key point, this snack takes less than seven minutes to prepare!  Also, it’s delicious. To top it all off, the sweet potato is the most nutritious vegetable according to a 1992 study by the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

So here’s my new go-to snack….

Ingredients

  • 1 sweet potato
  • [optional] butter or honey (not both)
  • Macadamia nuts, chopped
  • crystallized ginger, chopped
  • Shredded, unsweetened coconut flakes
  • a dash of cayenne pepper
  • a dash of nutmeg
  • a dash of cinammon
  • a pinch of sea salt

Directions

  1. Wash and scrub sweet potato.  Puncture with a fork a few times and pop into the microwave.  Microwaves vary, I put it on high for 5 minutes, check, and often add another minute.
  2. Meanwhile, chop up two macadamia nuts (just two, you ask.  Yup, just two) and a small piece of crystallized ginger.  You should have about twice as much chopped up nut as ginger.  Mix together with a pinch each of the following: nutmeg, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, and sea salt.  Sprinkle a bit of shredded unsweetened coconut into the ingredients.  Stir together.
  3. Cut open the sweet potato and mash flesh with fork.  I add a small pad of butter, but if you’re worried about the calories, you can certainly make do without or substitute honey.  Then mix in the ingredients.  Basically, you’ve made a delicious mashed sweet potato meal in the microwaved skins of one lucky veggie.  Eat and enjoy.

Why is a sweet potato so healthy?

  • Sweet potatoes are an excellent source of vitamin A, vitamin C, manganese, dietary fiber, vitamin B6. potassium, iron, and antioxidants.
  • Sweet potatoes are good for the liver.
  • They can help the body avoid  developing diabetes because they are good at stabilizing blood sugar levels and lower insulin resistance.
  • A small sweet potato, baked, is only about 90 calories.