There was a time when the low carb keto diet trend really took off and anyone trying to lose weight was terrified of potatoes.Starchy root vegetables were all suddenly evil, and they were replaced with eating bacon, butter, and pan-fried 80/20 hamburger patties without the fat drained off of them.
To any of you still eating that way, unless you are a polar bear swimming in frigid ocean waters going weeks between meals, all that fat is not great or needed.
But I lost weight!
I feel you rage tweeting at me, only lost is spelled loost and weight is spelled wait. Most of the weight lost on keto is water and glycogen in your muscles, two items that are very important for basic living and feeling good.
The keto diet, if done to the letter of the law, is 80% fat to 20% protein. After exercise or taxing physical labor, your muscles must rest and repair in order to recover and get stronger. What two items are crucial to that process? You guessed it, protein and glycogen.
Of course, I’m not here to tell you how to eat. If you are keto and love it, more power to you. Whatever floats your gravy boat. But, if you are only avoiding complex carbs because that irrational fear of potatoes still exists in your mind, I’m just saying you do not have to be afraid.
Complex carbs will not make you overweight. You might gain some weight initially, but that will only be the water and glycogen your body badly needs to repair itself. Eating more calories than you use causes true weight gain, but even that is subjective.
Remember, of all the tools in your health toolkit, the scale is the most useless one of all. Body composition, lean muscle gain or loss, and biomarkers like blood pressure, resting heart rate, and blood sugar levels are all far more important metrics.
Sweet potatoes are a powerhouse of nutrition packed into a super tasty delivery vehicle. Take a look at the tale of the tape from Healthline:
- Calories: 180
- Carbs: 41 g
- Protein: 4 g
- Fat: 0.3 g
- Fiber: 6.6 g
- Vitamin A: 213% of the Daily Value (DV)
- Vitamin C: 44% of the DV
- Manganese: 43% of the DV
- Copper: 36% of the DV
- Pantothenic acid: 35% of the DV
- Vitamin B6: 34% of the DV
- Potassium: 20% of the DV
- Niacin: 19% of the DV
There’s magnesium, again, the wolverine nutrient that repairs DNA.
Sweet potatoes are also full of antioxidants, which fight off free radicals that can damage DNA and cause inflammation, so you are getting a double dose of protection. Free radicals are linked to all the major bad guys of the health world, cancer, heart disease, and aging.
I didn’t realize when I started this journey at 42 years of age that I was giving my body all these tools to slow the aging process, fight off diseases, and repair and build muscle. I worried then if I would still be able to perform physical labor around the house and in the yard as I hit 50.
Now that I’m closing in on 51, I no longer have that worry. It is possible to be past the half century mark and still outwork teenagers out in the summer sun when fueled with complex carbs:
Some people don’t like the potato skin, but that’s where most of the fiber lives, so it’s important to include it when consuming sweet potatoes. If you bake them whole, don’t wrap them in foil. Poke some holes in the spud, give it a light rubdown with a bit of avocado oil and a sprinkle of sea salt, and bake them directly on the oven rack. Place a cooking sheet lined with foil on a rack under the potato to catch any drippings to save yourself a clean up, and you will get a delicious, crispy skin that will become your favorite part of the potato.
This recipe, however, is for those of you that refuse to entertain eating the skin at all. We are going to slice them so thin that you won’t even notice the skin is there. Break out your mandolin, and let’s make some stacks.
Remember to get a set of kevlar gloves from Amazon or your local kitchen store if you don’t have a pair. Kevlar gloves are cheap, fingers are not.
These are a perfect side to a quick cauliflower rice chicken dish, so I’ve included that as well. This is a super quick way to bring sweet potatoes into your life on a weekly basis, and feel younger and better for it. Enjoy:
Sweet Potato Stacks:
Ingredients
3 – 4 sweet potatoes, washed and sliced thin
1/2 stick grass fed butter, melted
1/2 tsp sea salt, pepper, garlic powder
1 tsp dried thyme
1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
Instructions:
Wash and dry the sweet potatoes, then slice with a mandolin using the thinnest setting. Melt the butter in a saucepan, and then mix all the ingredients in a large bowl:
Hit a muffin tin with a blast of non-stick and then fill each cup with a stack of the sliced potatoes. You can grate some more cheese to place on top for a crispy layer:
Bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes, let cool for about 5 minutes, then serve and enjoy:
To make the cauliflower chicken and rice, cut the chicken breasts and brown in a large skillet until cooked through. Add sliced mushrooms and onions and cook until they are soft. Season with 1/2 tsp of sea salt and pepper, onion and garlic powder. Drain any moisture and cover the chicken in a bowl with foil to keep warm. Melt 4 ounces of cream in the same skillet, blend in 1/4 cup of shredded parmesan, and then add the chicken and veggies back to the pan. Mix into a pan of a 16 oz bag of cauliflower rice that has been cooked until it has given up it’s moisture and starting to brown. Serve with crumbled all natural no sugar bacon:
See the list of all Jason Murphy’s recipes at www.mysaline.com/jason-murphy.