Sweet Potato Tacos and What should your diet consist of?

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One of the things people worry about most when they are considering eating fully plant-based is, “How am I going to get enough food to be full?!”  I am often asked if I just eat salads and don’t I get bored and hungry just eating greens? This is a common assumption and it couldn’t be further from the truth!

If you know me you will know that I love to eat!  The key to having energy and fueling your body properly on a whole food plant- based diet is to eat enough of the right foods. You are not going to feel energized eating just lettuce and a few vegetables at a meal. 

You need to add in ingredients like: chickpeas, beans, tubers like sweet potatoes, rice, bulgur, whole grains, mushrooms, tofu, etc. These calorie dense foods will provide your body with sustained fuel.  If you are trying to lose weight and are constantly cutting calories and reducing your food intake, two things will happen…  Number one, your body will think you are starving so it will adjust itself to store fat and burn calories slower to save you from starvation.  Who wants that when you are trying to lose weight?  Number two, you will get so hungry that you will succumb to your willpower and eat everything in sight.  Believe me, it’s much more advantageous to just eat whole foods! 

Wondering why sometimes your body doesn’t cooperate and what you should do? 

According to Dr. Klaper, if you are suffering from conditions that you may not think are associated with diet, such as Asthma, Colitis, Type 2 Diabetes, Rheumatoid Arthritis, allergies, etc, you may be surprised.  More and more studies are finding that there is a direct connection between your gut and your health.  “It’s the FOOD!” Dr. Klaper says… I love this.   Here is Dr. Klaper’s short three minute video on this topic.  Please watch.  It makes a ton of sense. 

Cravings? We all have them… but what can get rid of them?

What is your body secretly craving?   Oreos and salt and vinegar chips? That is because you may have too much of the wrong bacteria in your body and those little suckers are sending signals to your brain that you want these processed foods.  The trick is to kill off these bad bacteria and stop the cravings.  The good bacteria in your gut are craving whole foods, not something that comes in a package with a long list of ingredients.  They are just harder to hear with all of those other bad guys around!  There is a huge amount of information surfacing right now about the connection of your microbiome (the bacteria in your gut) and your overall body health.  It appears to be more important than we ever realized.  Here is a link to just one article. 

So, how do you strengthen the good bacteria in your gut?  Eat more prebiotics (foods that contain fibre, like fruits and vegetables) and lay off of the simple sugars.  Eat fruit instead.  Even if you are active and require more calories to sustain your body, you don’t need special protein shakes or energy drinks.  You just need to hydrate (with water, not sugary drinks) and eat more whole food!

Your body needs real food, not food created in a lab, high protein energy bars or snacks packed with simple carbohydrates like sugar and white flour.  It’s helpful to think in terms of eating what your grandmother would recognize as food.  Don’t get me wrong.  It’s not like I never eat these foods, I just know they aren’t the best choice and that I would do better by choosing something else.  When I do chose properly, the number of times I get cravings for those less healthy foods is much reduced!

Back in the day before the industrial revolution, before we decided food would be much more convenient if it came prepared and wrapped in a box, our grandparents ate what they or their community produced.   Much of it came from the ground and was eaten fresh.  If society reverted back to that way of living I believe we would be much healthier.  Back then there was no one advising you not to eat too many pieces of fruit in a day or to be careful how many grams of protein, fat or carbohydrate you were eating.  Food was just food.  People didn’t compartmentalize foods into these three macronutrients. They just ate them and got on with their life.  How about more of that?!  

Much of this compartmentalization comes from the food industry.  Big industry loves to keep us confused.  It is much more profitable for them that way. If we don’t know which diet is right, or what new trend to believe, we just throw up our hands and look toward the next fad for the solution to our failures.  

I know I keep saying this, but there is just not a lot of money in broccoli!  It is not difficult to get sucked into diet trends and supplements that we really don’t need.  I am always leery of people and companies that are out to sell you something to help you lose weight or supplement your diet.  Beware… you likely don’t need it.  In fact these trends, even though some celebrity or health guru is promoting it, might be doing you more harm than good.  

What should I eat? 

Contrary to popular belief it is not naturally occuring sugars in fruits and vegetables that make us gain weight, develop diabetes and other chronic conditions, it’s the fat that comes from animal products.  Dr. McDougall, a physician who has been sharing the effects of a plant-based diet on nutrition for 50 years, touches on this in this article.   In the 4 minute video below he discusses what he believes to be the best diet, a traditional starch based diet.  (AKA sweet potatoes and brown rice)  It is actually quite fascinating as he explains that the fat you eat is the fat you wear and how sugar doesn’t turn to fat in the body…

Here is a really great article from Dr. McDougall about diet misconceptions and what we really should be eating to be as healthy as possible. 

All fruits, vegetables, potatoes, legumes and whole grains are very beneficial to your health.  You should not worry about the sugar in these foods. Be mindful however, that they need to be eaten whole (such as oranges as opposed to orange juice) in order to retain the fibre so that the blood sugar spike will be reduced.  

If I am plant-based, what supplements do I need?

One of my previous posts is a review of what plant-based eaters need to make sure they are getting critically important nutrients into their diets, based on science and peer reviewed studies.  Click here to link to my blog post for a review of four things that are critically important for those not consuming animal products to intake.  

They are:
1. Vitamin B12
2. Vitamin D3
3. Omega 3
4. Iodine

In fact, research shows these four supplements are likely good for most people, as those eating the SAD (Standard American Diet) may be deficient in these nutrients as well.

Now on to the recipe!

Sweet Potato Tacos is a quick, satisfying, tasty dish for any night.  It is a great option for a crowd as you can either make up the tacos and serve or have people choose their own toppings.  I roasted both sweet potatoes and regular potatoes as my youngest daughter is not a huge sweet potato fan.  What?  How is that possible, they are like candy to me!  These tacos also make great leftovers for lunch or dinner the following day.  

Sweet potatoes are a staple food thought to have originated in South America. They have a strong presence in many cultures including Okinawa Japan, China, Central and South America, New Zealand and Australia as well as the South Pacific islands. Many of the healthiest populations have sweet potatoes as a food staple. 

Sweet potatoes contain high amounts of potassium and are thought to be a super food.  The skins should be eaten as well as they contain 10 times the antioxidant levels of the inner flesh and have an antioxidant count approaching blueberries!  Links to more information by Dr. Greger here.  Contrary to popular belief they are not fattening and are not a “bad carb” even though they are high in natural sugar.  This is the type of fuel your body needs!