Sweet Potato Salad

I’m so in love with this sweet potato salad (recipe by Kimberly Snyder, my all-time favourite nutritionist) that I made it for lunch for 3 consecutive days! There’s no mayonnaise so it’s dairy-free. The creaminess comes from avocado and dijon mustard. 🙂

Why sweet potatoes and not potatoes?

1.  Sweet potatoes do not produce toxic glycoalkaloids (natural toxins found in white potatoes that act as the plant’s natural pesticide and fungicide. Glycoalkaloids affect the nervous system by disrupting membranes and the body’s regulation of acetylcholine, a chemical responsible for conducting nerve impulses. Glycoalkaloids can also cause the membrane that line the intestines to become permeable, disrupting the intestinal barrier and initiate or aggravate Irritable Bowel Disease.)
2. Sweet potatoes contain more fiber than potatoes; fiber slows down the rate at which sweet potatoes break down into glucose and are absorbed into the blood stream (sweet potatoes have low glycemic index)- safer for diabetics to eat! 
3. Carotenoids, the pigments that give sweet potatoes their lovely orange hue, are powerful antioxidants with a variety of health benefits, including: 

• Pre-cursors to vitamin A
• Boost immune function
• Maintains healthy lining of the digestive tract, respiratory tract and skin
• Improves retinal function, particularly night vision
• Reduces inflammation
• Brightens skin

If your skin is looking dull and lacklustre, eat some brightly coloured food like sweet potatoes, which will impart some of their radiance to you. So always choose sweet potatoes over regular potatoes whenever possible!

Sweet Potatoes Salad Recipe

Serves 3-4

2 large or 3 smaller sweet potatoes

1/4 cup Dijon mustard

2/3 cup ripe avocado

1 minced garlic clove

1/3 cup diced celery (or cucumber)

2 Tbs. minced purple onion

2 Tbs. nutritional yeast

2 tsp. olive oil

High quality sea salt, to taste

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions

Peel and cut potatoes into 1-inch cubes and place in a single layer in a steamer try. Steam for about 15-18 minutes, or until tender. Set to the side to cool.

In the meantime, add the Dijon mustard into a large mixing bowl, and mash the avocado into it. Stir in the minced garlic, celery, purple onion and nutritional yeast and olive oil in a bowl.

Toss the sweet potatoes into the mixing bowl with the sauce, and mix to coat well. Season with the salt and pepper to your liking.

Enjoy it with a bowl of greens! I topped my salad with Korean fermented seaweeds to help me digest the starchy vegetables better. 🙂