Healthy Eats | Carbin' Not Curving The Sweet Yam!
- La'Tara Jackson
- Oct 18, 2023
- 4 min read
Updated: Dec 16, 2023
Guilty Pleasure!
This is one of those foods that I'd eat even if they weren't good for me. I remember as a child growing up and still to this day, one of my favorite parts of Thanksgiving was/is eating sweet potato pie. I love them so much I'd make them in any season. I had an old friend who'd make them for me just because she knew I loved them. If I am honest, I was happy to learn they're good for me because I had no intentions on ever removing them from my diet. Sweet potatoes that is! The pie might be another story, and I am not ready to give that up. So let's not get into it, mkay! Life is about balance! Sweet potatoes are nutritious, packing a good amount of vitamin A, vitamin C, and mangnesium into each serving. They also have anticancer properties and may promote immune function and other health benefits. Over the years while fine tuning my healthy lifestyle, I'd start baking sweet potatoes all by themselves and eating them as snacks in a cup before and after my workouts. I guess you could call it a healthy obsession. Of course I knew it taste good, but now I knew it was adding to my weight gain and getting me closer to my goals in a healthy way. The fact that it boost my energy was just a bonus.
Carbohydrates Are Good For You!
And necessary! Just like healthy fats are required to maintain hormonal balance, healthy carbs are a great source of energy. As a Personal Trainer and Director of a well-known gym, I can't count how many times I sat in front of someone on a low-carb diet, complaining about the fact they had little to no energy. Typically, I'd see them walking on the treadmill, but rarely if ever, did I see them picking up a weight or strength training. That's because these kind of activities require an adequate amount of energy. Often we look to energy drinks to supplement what we lack naturally, but there are better alternatives. Trust me, I have more than a few energy drink stories that'll scare you! I am not saying not to have one every now and then, but if an energy drink is your only source of energy or your go to, you're not doing something right. So, let's fix it!
That One Time I Made Sweet Yams!
As I mentioned, I began consuming sweet potatoes almost as a pre and post workout over the years. If you know anything about baking, you know sweet potato's take some time getting soft. I'd place mine in the oven for up to an hour depending on how big the sweet potato was. I still practice this method, but obviously this means the texture is more like mashed potatoes. I simply drizzle a bit of honey on top and I'm good to go. (Quick story time! I promise we'll get to those meal ideas shortly.) Once, I signed up to bring the sweet potatoes to our family Thanksgiving dinner. I figured to play it safe, I'd just bring the yams. I thought to myself, I do this all the time! But the problem was I'd gotten so used to making them this way, I brought mushed sweet yams to the dinner, on accident. See what had happened was, I let them get too soft. When I discovered my error, I had no time to fix a new pan so I drowned them in marshmallows. Boy! I tell ya! They talked about me so bad, lol! Today, I am more intentional and aware while cooking so that wouldn't happen. It's funny looking back on times like that because just based on how I cooked then versus now, shows my growth. But let's get into those meals! Here are a few ways to eat your sweet potato and get energy from a natural source.
Meal Ideas
✨ Twice Baked Sweet Potato
I met a chef girl in LA, who introduced me to the twice baked sweet potato. I used her photo in this post, check caption for details. The picture says it all.
✨ Sweet Potato Fries
Swap out the regular fries for sweet potato fries. Using the same method as the twice baked idea, cut thiner slices to make fries.
✨ Sweet Potato Pancakes
I guess you'd have to really love sweet potatoes like I do for this one. Even if you don't and just want to try something new, here's the link for the recipe I got from Feel Good Foodie. https://feelgoodfoodie.net/recipe/sweet-potato-pancakes/ . You're Welcome!
Final Thoughts | What's Good For You!
In this lifetime and maybe even in the next, we have to learn a sense of balance. You can love what's good for you and it can love you back. Sweet yams are a great example. Don't run when you hear the words carb, instead learn how they can benefit you. You may not be in a season where you want to gain weight but you will always need energy irregardless if you're performing the most mundane task. The work comes in learning how much you should consume according to your goals and physical activity. If you'd like to learn more about how to calculate macronutrients and get a customized wellness plan, you're in the right place!
If you’re not sure where to begin with your healthy lifestyle, and or you’re looking for your people to do this walk with, it is possible, I am your people. Change starts with you, but it takes a village. Join my Pretty Beast Fit VIP Community and meet your self-love sisters!
La'Tara Jackson is Author/Owner of Ground Up Self-Love Workbook and .com, and Holistic Coach both certified in personal training and yoga. She has over eight years experience in nutrition and wellness and it all began with being a single mom desiring a better life for herself and children by starting a woman's community bootcamp that would go on to change the lives of many. And that was just the beginning.
Comments