Sugar cravings are no joke. Sugar is the primary food of the bad bacteria that live in your gut. So SUPER STRONG cravings for sugar is the way those bad bugs insure they get fed.
You can starve the bad bacteria by giving up refined sugar, but how do you balance those strong cravings without giving in completely? The answer is short and sweet.
Sweet potatoes that is.
I always keep baked sweet potatoes at hand to satiate sugar and starch cravings and throw together quick and satisfying meals. Sweet potatoes are versatile and nutritious and don’t spike your blood sugar or freak out your liver like refined sugar does.
They may taste sweet but due to their fiber content sweet potatoes are easy on insulin levels.
Some gut-healing diets like the Specific Carbohydrate diet don’t allow sweet potatoes but I don’t like to follow diets to the letter. I like to follow my body and my body never reacted poorly to sweet potatoes. But everyone is different. People who are healing candida infections should probably avoid sweet potatoes.
But candida was not my issue so when I was healing, I ate sweet potatoes for breakfast, lunch or dinner. They are nutrient dense and comforting. And the yellow flesh sweet potatoes are not overly sweet.
I suggest sweet potato recipes to my clients who suffer with intense sugar cravings.
The body needs a little bit of natural sugar to work well and sweet potatoes are my healthy fix.
Sweet potatoes might not look sexy in the supermarket, but they make a great foundation for satisfying meals. Simply roast some and keep them on hand to eat when you need a sweet hit.
Here are some fun and innovative recipes to get your creative juices flowing.
Sweet Potato Marinara
Surprisingly, the balance of these sweet, salty and acid flavors go together so well. Experiment with adding your own ingredients. I’ve stumbled upon the most amazing dishes through accident and experimentation.
Ingredients and Recipe
Makes two servings. Double or triple the ingredients to feed more people.
1 large sweet potato
6 ounces of sugar-free marinara (I use Putenesca sauce from Trader Joes)
Frozen peas
Turkey bacon
Quarter of a chopped jalapeno pepper
A quarter of a red onion
A can of tuna ( I love tuna packed in olive oil)
Saute the onion in olive oil ( you can even use the olive oil that the tuna is packed in).
Add in a chopped slice of turkey bacon and saute. Add in a quarter of a chopped jalapeno pepper.
Put in a sweet potato and stir until the consistency becomes creamier. Add in frozen organic peas and keep stirring.
Add in some sugar-free marinara sauce and tuna and stir.
If the dish is too liquid from too much sauce you can cook down until the sauce until it evaporates a bit.
Sweet Potato Pesto
Same sweet potato base but a totally different flavor to keep your taste buds entertained.
Ingredients and Recipe
One large sweet potato
A quarter cup of cilantro and pumpkin seed pesto. Get the recipe here.
2 slices of turkey bacon
1/4 cup of Pancetta (a type of cured bacon)
red onion
A scrambled egg (I use pastured)
1/4 of jalapeno pepper
Put the red onion in a pan with olive oil and cook down until semi soft (they begin to turn translucent when done). Throw in the Pancetta, turkey bacon and jalapeno, saute and stir.
Scramble an egg or two in another pan. Add cumin and sea salt to the eggs.
Add the sweet potato to the pan with onion and pancetta. Cook until mixture softens.
Take off the stove, add in the cilantro pesto and eggs and stir. Sprinkle with smoked paprika and serve.
Breakfast
Sweet potatoes are a great idea for breakfast because most people crave carbs in the morning. I used gelatin to make this sweet potato flat bread the other day. The gelatin held it together well and is extremely healing to the body and digestive system. The recipe is here.
If you don’t want to get fancy, you can serve your bacon and eggs with a side of sweet mashed potatoes or baked sweet potato fries (simply slice into matchsticks, toss with oil and salt and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.
Sweet potatoes can be eaten alone for breakfast, with lots of coconut oil and some sweet Indian spices like cinnamon, ginger and cardamom. Or mix it with a scrambled egg and top with pumpkin seeds.
Lazy Diner
Check out my lazy dinner from the other night. A peeled sweet potato (I roast them with the skins on and peel after) eaten with other simple but healthy ingredients.
I assembled this meal in 10 minutes. A warmed sweet potato served with Napa cabbage and carrot and cabbage sauerkraut (store bought), ground lamb, and plain yogurt.I put some home made sriracha sauce on the lamb.
Because the sweet potato was pre-cooked, this dish could be prepared in minutes. You can also cut up the sweet potatoes and toss them into a salad for a more substantial meal.
Sweet potatoes are a great foundation to build your meal around. A great remedy for intense sugar cravings and an easy, go-to staple for healing the gut.
Do you know how to dress up a sweet potato? Share your favorite recipe in the comments below.
Angela Privin is proof that IBS is NOT an incurable disease or a disease at all. IBS is a body out of balance. It’s an invitation for change. After solving her own IBS mystery more than a decade ago Angela trained as a health coach to help others.
Angela uses both science and intuition to help people figure out what’s out of balance in their body. She works with lab tests, dietary changes, supplementation and nervous system rebalancing. Get help rebalancing your digestive system and solving your IBS mystery here.
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