A Healthy Cure for a Sweet Tooth?

You know the Alanis Morissette song, "Ironic"?  I know you do because now it's probably stuck in your head (sorry).  This is the part I'm going to add:

A diabetic who loves sweets
Isn't it ironic...don't you think

That's me, the sweet-loving diabetic.  I have type 1, or juvenile diabetes, in very simple terms that means that my pancreas stopped producing insulin so I have to use injections, or in my case an insulin pump, to give my body the insulin it needs to break down the food I eat and bring the glucose to my cells. I'm stuck with this for life unless a cure is developed and widely available. The type of diabetes causing so many health problems in our country is type 2 diabetes which, from my reading and understanding, can be reversed with a healthier diet full of plant foods and less of refined grain and refined sugar foods.

Anyway, I have always had a sweet tooth.  You could usually find me with my hand stuck in the candy jar at parties or asking for the richest, most decadent desert at a restaurant.  My favorite ice cream choice was double chocolate chip from Graeter's - only true chocolate lovers know the joy in their double chocolate chip with extra large dark chocolate chips.  It "was" my favorite because I gave up chocolate about 3 years ago.  I know, it sounds crazy, but I think it was one of the foods (along with Splenda and too much salt) that was causing my vertigo spells.  There are times when I can still taste (and maybe drool a little over) the deliciousness of my favorite ice cream or my mom's most amazing extra chocolaty brownies, but giving up chocolate didn't kill me.  I know making the changes in our family's diet is not easy, but over time we will become used to it.

Eliminating (or greatly reducing) refined sugar is one of the best changes we can make for our overall health.  I really do love sugar, so one of the ways I've been able to get a sweet fix is with sweet potatoes.  Currently I'm the only one that's found the joy of the sweet potato at our house, but I will not give up serving this super food each week.  Here are some of my favorite sweet potato recipes so far.

1) Sweet Potato Quesadillas from Food Loves Writing
These were really easy to make, and as promised, they were the perfect mix of sweet and spicy.  I made them with the whole-wheat tortillas and these refried beans.  I will make the refried beans again too, but I will add the whole pepper and some extra salt and spices; they were a little too bland.  I also made quesadillas with the beans and some cheese.

2) Sweet Potato Flatbread from The Organic Family Cookbook by Anni Daulter
I adapted this recipe with what I had on hand; I used diced red peppers and all shredded mozzarella cheese in place of the picuante peppers and feta cheese.  I burned the flatbread cooking it the way she suggests, so I would not pre-cook it next time.

Ingredients:
1 medium sweet potato
1 large piece of flatbread
1/2 cup sliced red onions
olive oil
1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup crumpled feta cheese
handful chopped sweet piquante peppers
pinch of dried oregano

Steps:
Peel sweet potato and cut into large chunks.  Put chunks in a steamer over simmering water and steam until softened, about 12 minutes.  Transfer steamed pieces to a blender and puree (I just mashed the potatoes instead of dirtying another gadget).  This is how I make the mashed sweet potatoes to eat as a side dish.

Preheat oven to 425 F.

On a pizza stone or a cookie sheet, place flatbread in the oven without any of the toppings, for 5 minutes.  (This is the step I would skip next time).

Meanwhile, saute onions in a skillet with a little olive oil (I sautéed the red peppers too) over medium heat until caramelized and softened, about 5-7 minutes.

Remove flatbread from oven and spread sweet potato puree over the top.  Sprinkle with both cheeses, onions, peppers, and oregano, then drizzle all over with a touch of olive oil.  

Bake flat bread for 10-12 minutes, until cheeses are melted and slightly browned.  Serve hot.

I borrowed this cookbook from the library.  It has really beautiful pictures for each recipe.  There are a few more recipes I might try, so I'll let you know how they go.

My experimenting with sweet potatoes has just begun.  I hope Bryan and Anna realize that they are as delicious as I think they are.  It might take a little time, but I can wait.