The benefits of sweet potatoes

Orange sweet potatoes are not only an amazing source of vitamin A, but they also improve the bio-availability of different micro-nutrients such as iron (prevents anemia), zinc (improves wound healing and immune function), calcium (for building strong bone) and magnesium (heart and skeletal muscle function). They're loaded with high quality nutrients and proteins that have shown to be associated with reduced risk of colo-rectal cancers. Not only that, they're cheap! Its been studied. Nasa is even sending these spuds to Mars (if you haven’t seen, The Martian… better make it a pizza and a movie night).

So why not mix it up a little and spread some sweet potatoes on your next home-made pie?

For this recipe, you can use a bread maker, mixer (such as KitchenAid®), or your own two hands. I used the bread maker my mom gave me after college, its the same one she and I would make bread with when I was growing up and it still makes perfect dough! I’ll never get rid of it. The amount of ingredients listed will make enough for about 4 healthy servings (8 slices). If you prefer a thinner crust, use less flour (ie, 1-2 cups per 15 ounces of water). For the sauce, you can use a blender, food processor, or some elbow grease. Its up to you.

Ingredients

Dough:

15-ounces warm water

2 teaspoons live baking yeast

2-3 cups flour (any type, your choice), plus some extra for kneading

1-2 tablespoons of agave nector

Salt and spices to taste (I used a handful each of basil, sage and rosemary).

Sauce:

1 large sweet potato, cooked (zapped, boiled, baked, steamed, etc.)

1 medium tomato, diced

1 garlic clove

Salt and spices to taste as above

Toppings:

Leftovers, frozen veggies, farmers market finds… go nuts! (I used leftover All Hail Kale salad from Veggie Grill, plus some beets, fresh tomatoes, and mushrooms we had on hand).

Directions

Dough:

1. Add yeast to warm water in a glass, whisk with a fork and then let it sit for a few minutes.

2. Once the yeast appears foamy, pour the whole glass into a bowl, mixer or bread maker. If using a bread maker, start the “Dough” setting.

3. Add in the salt, spices, agave to blend.

4. Slowly add in the flour, mixing as you go until the consistency is stretchy but not sticky.

5. If you're using a bread maker, stop here and come back in 2 hours or more.

6. If mixing by machine or by hand, shape the dough into a ball. Place in a bowl and cover with a clean towel. Place the bowl in a warm place and allow it to rise for at least 2 hours.

Sauce:

1. Place all ingredients into a food processor, blender or bowl. Mix until blended

Assembly:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Once the dough has risen, use a bit of extra flour to roll it out into your desired shape.

3. Place the dough onto a greased pizza pan or cookie sheet. Bake for 20 minutes or so, or until crust is just beginning to become golden.

4. Remove from the oven and spread sauce evenly onto the crust

5. Top with toppings and return it to the oven for 15 minutes or so

6. Remove from the oven and allow to cool a bit before slicing.

7. Call your friends and enjoy!

Sources Cited

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A Drewnowski. New metrics of affordable nutrition: Which vegetables provide most nutrients for least cost? J Acad Nutr Diet 2013 113(9):1182 – 1187.

K Ren, J Qiu, X Wang, F Niu, T Jiang. The effect of a sweet potato, footbath, and acupressure intervention in preventing constipation in hospitalized patients with acute coronary syndromes. Gastroenterol Nurs 2012 35(4):271 – 277.

P G Li, T H Mu, L Deng. Anticancer effects of sweet potato protein on human colorectal cancer cells. World J Gastroenterol. 2013 19(21):3300 – 3308.

R Senthilkumar, K W Yeh. Multiple biological functions of sporamin related to stress tolerance in sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas Lam). Biotechnol Adv 2012 30(6):1309 – 1317.

M Pandey, V K Shukla. Diet and gallbladder cancer: A case-control study. Eur J Canc Prev 2002 11(4):365 – 368.

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D Breese Jones, C E F Gersdorff. Ipomoein, a globulin from sweet potatoes, ipomoea batatas: Isolation of a secondary protein derived from ipomeo. J Biol Chem 1931 93:119 – 126.

C D Wilson, R D Pace, E Bromfield, G Jones, J Y Lu. Consumer acceptance of vegetarian sweet potato products intended for space missions. Life Support Biosph Sci 1998 5(3):339 – 346.

GJ Huang, MJ Sheu, HJ Chen, YS Chang, YH Lin. Growth inhibition and induction of apoptosis in NB4 promyelocytic leukemia cells by trypsin inhibitor from sweet potato storage roots. J Agric Food Chem. 2007 Apr 4;55(7):2548-53.

H Kobayashi, T Yagyu, K Inagaki, T Kondo, M Suzuki, N Kanayama, T Terao. Therapeutic efficacy of once-daily oral administration of a Kunitz-type protease inhibitor, bikunin, in a mouse model and in human cancer. Cancer. 2004 Feb 15;100(4):869-77.

Gurmu F, Hussein S, Laing M: The potential of orange-fleshed sweet potato to prevent vitamin A deficiency in Africa. International journal for vitamin and nutrition research 2014, 84(1-2):65-78.

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