Jemma O'Hanlon Boost With Sweet Potato Interview

Boost Your Vegetable Intake With Sweet Potatoes

Fast Facts:
Sweet potato is often used in winter dishes, however sweet potato season runs all year making it a delicious, healthy vegetable any time of year. Lucky us!
There are four types of sweet potato, gold, red, purple and white. Over 90% of sweet potatoes grown in Australia are the gold variety, sometimes called Beauregard. With rose/gold smooth skin and bright orange flesh.
Despite their name, sweet potatoes don't belong to the potato family, they are part of the root vegetable family. Sweet potato's creamy texture, sweet-spicy flavour and all-round goodness make them the perfect choice when it comes to supercharging your favourite meals.
In Australia, there are about 85 commercial sweet potato producers. Collectively, they produce almost 90,000 tonnes of sweet potatoes per year.

Supercharge With Sweet Potato:
Sweet potato is:
Very high in Vitamin A which is essential for healthy eyes and skin*
Very high in Vitamin C which is a key part of the immune system and plays an important role in helping to absorb iron from foods*
A source of the B vitamin niacin which is needed for energy release and the reduction of tiredness and fatigue*
Is a source of potassium, which is needed for healthy nerve and muscle functioning*
It is high in fibre to promote a healthy digestive system and to help keep you regular

Did You Know? :
Fresh pick: Choose firm sweet potatoes with brightly coloured skin. The deeper the colour, the richer it is in the antioxidant beta-carotene.
Don't refrigerate: Store sweet potatoes loose (not in a plastic bag) in a cool, dark, well-ventilated place for up to two weeks.
Prep like a pro: The skin can be left on if you scrub it well, or peeled. Slice, dice or bake whole, just as you do with potatoes, or sautee, barbecue, fry or microwave.

Inspiration:
Delicious Dip: Throw some sweet potato, cooked chickpeas, tahini, olive oil, garlic, cumin, sriracha, nutmeg cinnamon and lemon juice into a blender or food processor to make a yummy hummus with a sweet twist
Oodles of Noodles: Peel a sweet potato and run it through a spiraliser to make sweet potato noodles. Sautee or roast the noodles so that they don't break apart and add to your favourite stir fry. Not only do they add a bright pop of colour but are also incredibly nutritious!

Toast it baby: If you haven't noticed, bread has been looking a lot more orange on Instagram these days"and it's not a new filter. It's a new trend: sweet potato "toast." Try popping a slice of sweet potato in the toaster (it will need longer than bread) and add your favourite toppings for a nutritional and delicious breakfast with a twist.

www.australiansweetpotatoes.com.au

Interview with Jemma O'Hanlon

Jemma O'Hanlon, Accredited Practising Dietitian and Nutritionist, has more than 13 year's experience across foodservice, food manufacturing and public health sectors. Jemma is currently the Research & Development Manager at Hort Innovation and manages the Health, Nutrition, Food Safety and Value Chain projects. These align with her values of supporting Australian farmers and encouraging Aussies to eat more fresh fruit and vegetables.

Question: What is the Pegan diet?

Jemma O'Hanlon: Pinterest predicted Pegan diets as one of the top food trends for 2019. The Pegan diet is a new approach to eating that focuses on eating plant-based foods and combines principles from the Paleo diet and veganism. While they may contradict each other in some ways, both are build on the foundation of eating whole, real foods.


Question: And, the Planetary Health diet?

Jemma O'Hanlon: The Planetary Health diet was delivered by the EAT-Lancet Commission as the ultimate healthy diet from a sustainable food system. It recommends the global adoption of a diet that has people eating large amounts of vegetables, fruit, beans and whole grains.

Both diets contain an important message: eat more vegetables and real foods! Australian Sweet Potatoes are a nutritious and delicious vegetable that I encourage people to eat as part of a healthy, plant based diet. They can also be the ultimate super-swap for a number of different ingredients, everything from toast, to sweet potato noodles.


Question: How can we boost our vegetable consumption with sweet potato?

Jemma O'Hanlon: Making a super-swap meal with sweet potatoes is one of the easiest ways to up your veggie intake. It's also a great way maximise the nutritional profile of your meals without compromising on taste.

Some easy super-swap meals include:
Sweet potato toasts: Instead of regular bread, try popping a slice of sweet potato in the toaster and add your favourite toppings for a delicious breakfast, we've got some great ideas here.
Sweet potato noodles: Peel a sweet potato and run it through the spiraliser to make sweet potato noodles. This is a tasty, nutritious alternative to regular pasta or noodles.
Sweet potato hummus: Give a regular dip a nutritious twist by adding sweet potatoes into the mix. There's a yummy recipe from Australian Sweet Potatoes here.

Question: Why is sweet potato the best vegetable to increase in our diets?

Jemma O'Hanlon: Sweet potato stands out from other vegetables due to its high vitamin A and C content. Just one serving (150g) of sweet potato provides more than 100% of the daily requirements for both of these vitamins. However it's important to eat the rainbow when it comes to vegetables. Different veggies contain different amounts of nutrients and antioxidants that contribute to a healthy diet.


Question: Why should our families be eating more sweet potatoes?

Jemma O'Hanlon: As well as supercharging meals, sweet potatoes can supercharge your family's health and wellbeing. They're particularly useful for fussy eaters who may not be eating a good variety of vegetables daily.

Sweet potato is:
Very high in Vitamin A, which is essential for healthy eyes and skin.
Very high in vitamin C which is a key part in the immune system and pays and important role in helping to absorb iron from foods.
A source of the B vitamin niacin, which is needed for energy release and the reduction of tiredness and fatigue.

A source of potassium, which is needed for healthy nerve and muscle functioning. It is high in fibre which promotes a health digestive system and helps keep you regular.

Question: How do sweet potatoes differ from traditional white potatoes?

Jemma O'Hanlon: Despite their name, sweet potatoes don't belong to the potato family, they are part of the root vegetable family. While both sweet potato and white potato are nutritious foods and both have a place in a healthy balanced diet, there are a number of nutritional differences between them.

Sweet potatoes have a lower glycaemic index (GI) than most potatoes, so they can help us to feel fuller for longer and keep our appetite in check.

Sweet potatoes also have the bonus of being naturally sweeter than regular potatoes without containing any added sugar. If you have a bit of a sweet tooth like I do, you might like to try enjoying some sweet potato to satisfy any sweet cravings. I love sweet potato roasted in the oven, drizzled with some Australian extra virgin olive oil, a pinch of salt and pepper, and sprinkled with cinnamon – the trick is to sprinkle a little cinnamon over sweet potatoes before baking them to amplify their sweetness. You can also sprinkle a little bit of cinnamon into your sweet potato mash. Trust me, it is life changing! The kids will love it too.


Question: How can we easily add sweet potato to our diets?

Jemma O'Hanlon: In addition to making super-swap meals, some other easy ways to cook sweet potato are:
Simply throwing a sweet potato in the oven and baking it for 30-45 minutes until cooked through. Split open and enjoy.
Finely slicing sweet potato, brushing them with a little olive oil and cooking them on a BBQ or grill.
Chopping sweet potatoes into chunks and adding them to a roasting pan with other veggies. Drizzle olive oil, and pepper and bake till cooked through. Garnish with fresh herbs as you desire.


Question: What's your favourite way to eat sweet potato?

Jemma O'Hanlon: On the weekend I made some sweet potato toast and it's one of the simplest things you can make! Start by slicing your sweet potato lengthways, about ½ cm thick. Then place the slices into toaster on high, twice, or until cooked through. You can then top your 'toast' with sweet or savoury options – think tahini, ricotta and a drizzle of honey or some smashed avo, basil and diced heirloom tomatoes. I also love baking sweet potato brownies when I need a (healthy) chocolate fix. You don't need to add as much fat or oil as you would to regular brownies, so you're often cutting the calories in half. Sweet potatoes also keep the texture lovely and soft.

Check out the australiansweetpotatoes.com.au website for plenty more delicious recipes.


Interview by Brooke Hunter