Alison is a registered dietitian, board-certified in oncology nutrition, and a cancer thriver. Her expertise in oncology nutrition and personal experience with her own cancer diagnosis and its treatment provide her with the unique perspective of being able to relate to her clients on an entirely different level. Her content is consistently focused on evidence-based guidelines and seeks to increase the awareness of the power of nutrition to complement traditional cancer therapies.
My husband and I are blessed in many ways. One of those ways is having family members watching our baby girl while we are working. My twin sister, Lauren, watches her one afternoon each week. After work, I get to drive straight to my sister’s house see my baby girl, hear about her day, and have a fabulous plant-based meal with Lauren, my brother-in-law, and baby girl.
Lauren embarked on a plant-based diet after I encouraged her to try it to see how it could/would manage the lupus she was diagnosed with in 2013. You’ll get to hear her incredible journey with the plant-based diet and lupus here on the blog soon (*Stay Tuned; Spoiler Alert: She’s had amazing results!*).
This “recipe” for these sweet potato wedges comes from Lauren’s repertoire. Lauren made these wedges as a side to our favorite black bean burger. Ever since that meal, I can’t seem to get enough of these!
I’m not going to lie, I’ve had these wedges as my “dinner” with a side salad before. And I’m sure it’s bound to happen again. They also make a great snack if you have the ability to them in the afternoon. Heck, if someone made these for breakfast, I would certainly eat them!
Luckily, sweet potatoes are highly nutritious and are perfectly fine to have for dinner alongside of a dark leafy green salad. Sweet potatoes are virtually fat-free, naturally contain no cholesterol, minimal sodium, high in potassium, high in fiber, and offer a few grams of protein.
Here are a few of the other health benefits of sweet potatoes which you may or may not already be familiar with:
Health Benefits of Sweet Potatoes
– An excellent source of beta-carotene, which is the precursor to vitamin A.
– High in antioxidants, such as beta-carotene, but also anthocyanins, cyanidins, peonidins, and other color-related phytonutrients which provide many health benefits including chronic disease prevention.
– Anti-inflammatory
– Plays a role in improved blood sugars related to their high fiber content along with their ability to increase adiponectin in the blood, which plays a role in insulin metabolism.
– Potentially antibacterial and antifungal properties, which are still being studied more in-depth.
Sweet Potato Wedges
Serves: 1-2
ingredients
1 medium-large sweet potato
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
~ 1/4 teaspoon salt
~ 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Wash the sweet potato.
Slice the potato into wedges. I do this by cutting the potato in half “hamburger” style. Then the two halves, I slice in half “hotdog” style. And slice into wedges from there.
In a large, glass (or, microwavable) bowl add the cut potato. Drizzle with olive oil and add salt and pepper. Using your hands, mix until the potatoes are evenly coated with the olive oil.
Add the glass bowl to the microwave. Simply choose the “baked potato” selection, or microwave until the potato is just about cooked, approximately 8-10 minutes depending on your microwave.
Add the cooked potato to a cookie sheet and spread it out evenly so that there is one even layer. Bake about 10 minutes, flip the wedges, and cook for another 10 minutes or so, until desired crispness.
Bye, bye fried sweet potato fries!
