Baked Sweet Potato with Spinach and Avocado

Helga Glaesel de BlandingJune 18, 2015

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Think of a baked russet potato, only this version is made with sweet potatoes and the topping is a healthy mix of spinach and avocado. It’s different, healthy and delicious. Whenever possible, we should really start substituting regular potatoes for sweet potatoes in our recipes. I’ve been doing it when making roast chicken with vegetables, instead of potatoes I use diced sweet potatoes drizzled with olive oil, salt and pepper. I’ve also tried sweet potato purée, mixed with carrots which I also drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. You get the idea, you can use other spices to enhance their flavor, such as cumin, curry, pepper, cayenne or paprika. Here’s some nutritional benefits I found online to share with you:

Sweet potatoes are a great source of beta-carotene, a powerful antioxidant known to give orange vegetables and fruits their vibrant color, which is converted to vitamin A in the body. Consuming foods rich in beta-carotene may reduce the risk of developing certain types of cancer, offer protection against asthma and heart disease and delay aging and body degeneration.

Keep the skin on! The color of sweet potato skin can vary from white to yellow, purple or brown but no matter what color it is, make sure you do not peel it off. A sweet potatoes skin contributes significant amounts of fiber, potassium and quercetin, which acts like an antihistamine and an anti-inflammatory, and may help protect against heart disease.

Source: Medical News Today

Helga

Baked Sweet Potato with Spinach & Avocado

Recipe adapted from Everyday Food’s Eat Clean
Serves 2

Ingredients:
2 pricked sweet potatoes, with skin on
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 thinly sliced small onion
1 bag of spinach, rinsed
coarse salt
1 sliced avocado, divided
cayenne pepper
lime juice

Procedure:

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Bake sweet potatoes until tender, about 45 minutes. (just prick them with a fork and leave them whole and unpeeled)
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook until tender, about 6 minutes. Add spinach and cook, stirring, until bright green and wilted, about 5 minutes. Season with salt.
To serve, split potatoes and top each with the greens and half of a sliced avocado. Season with cayenne, salt, and a squeeze of lime juice.