The weekend is just ahead and if you're anything like most of us, it'll time to get out to the market soon in prep for weekend dinners without the first thought of what to cook. While the weather's not quite spring-ish enough to break out colder foods as main dishes, we're stuck in that "in-between" phase of feasting holidays where we need a rest from traditional roast dinners with all the accouterments, but perhaps still want meals that are filling enough to hold us over through the stark chill of March. Well, today NUY 40+ has a few ideas curated with old school "weekend suppers" in mind, featuring one of the rock star vegetables of black soul food cooking: sweet potatoes.
High in fiber and potassium, sweet potatoes have more grams of natural sugars than a regular potato, but more overall nutrients with fewer calories. Not only are sweet potatoes nutritious and low in calories, but as a fibrous root vegetable they help maintain healthy bowel function, and research suggests they positively affect insulin levels for people with diabetes (due to their low glycemic content), may help maintain healthy blood pressure, and protect against cancer. Check out the recipes we've curated and tested below from around the Net for quick and easy weekend cooking ideas using this old-school root vegetable you might remember from the days of Sunday dinners from your childhood...but with a new school cooking approach. As always, click on the recipe title under each photo to get full cooking instructions.
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| Updating a classic soul food Sunday favorite: MAPLE-GLAZED CHICKEN W/SWEET POTATOES from BETTER HOMES & GARDENS. Since pre-made mashed sweet potatoes aren't readily available, we simply substitute fresh ones halved and microwaved, then scoop out the flesh, using one large potato per person. |
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| When it comes to no-fuss cooking, you know we'll always champion a sheet pan meal and fresh grüner spargel (green asparagus) is back on supermarket shelves at a reasonable price: ONE PAN SALMON, ASPARAGUS, & SWEET POTATO DINNER from CATZ IN THE KITCHEN |
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| This vegetarian-friendly dish utilizes chickpeas to pack a protein-punch- and to simplify prep time, we substituted store-bought hummus for the sauce, then added recipe requested ginger & hot sauce to kick up the flavor: STUFFED & SAUCED SWEET POTATOES from THE FIRST MESS |
...and that concludes our New Urban YUM! post for this week. Join us in the coming days as we bring you new recipe and entertaining ideas for Easter 2018. Til then, here's wishing you Happy Cooking in your own NUY kitchen this weekend 🍲
xo,
