Sweet Potato Woes

[Peregrinari]

So, I'm new to the plan and the forums (Day 7 lurker) but I've run into a bit of a problem. I HATE sweet potatoes. The flavor, the texture, the colour, everything. They seem to crop up in about 75% of the recipies I've looked at though so my question for you all is...is there anyway to make a sweet potato not taste like a sweet potato? Can I replace it with something more palatable? I've been choking them down for a week but I really don't want to do it for another three.

I should also mention that up until I started this I knew how to cook a grand total of 5 meals, most of which were varieties on pasta, so if there's something obvious I should know go ahead and assume I don't. Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

[SpinSpin]

First off, there is no need to eat the sweet potato--if you need a carb heavy veg, have winter squash, pumpkin, carrots, parsnips and the like! You could also look for the white ones, which are drier, more like a regular potato and not so 'sweet', there are also purple japanese ones, but I have never had them, so I can't speak to how they are.

[annabel]

The Japanese ones are a lot less sweet (at least the ones I had when I was in Japan) and not as orange of a flesh.

Don't force yourself to eat sweet potato if you don't like them. Personally, I haven't really been following any recipes and just eating the meat and veg that I like.

Have you looked at the recipes on http://www.theclothesmakethegirl.com/ and http://nomnompaleo.com/? They're probably two of the more popular paleo recipe blogger and neither one of them uses much in the way of sweet poato as far as I can recall.

[Megan H]

Forcing yourself to eat something you don't enjoy, is asking for trouble and making this harder than it should be. If you aren't enjoying what you're eating, you're less likely to enjoy the program over all so my advice is to stop eating sweet potatoes Just eat what you DO like. And I promise you, there are so, so SO many good recipes out there that don't have sweet potatoes. Tonight I'm making Lamb Rogan Josh from nomnompaleo (How awesome is that site Annabel??) Also, you might be able to turn those pasta dishes that you like into Whole30 complaint meals - particularly any tomato based ones. Sauces made from scratch are always better anyway. Used canned tomatoes instead of store-bought pasta sauces and trade the pasta for zucchini "noodles" (super thin strips of zucchini steamed for a couple of minutes) or cauliflower "rice" (cauliflower put through a food processor and then cooked). I made a Bolognese with homemade beef broth, canned tomatoes and lots of herbs, spices and finely chopped vegies and had it on mashed up parsnip. The Bolognese made enough for 6 meals so it kept me going for a while.

[Fenderbender]

Beets, carrots, parsnips, winter squash are all more caloric starchy types.... Try incorporating them if you really need the extra hit...

Also I find the quality of sweet potato really varies.... The run of the mill supermarket ones can be just aweful, dry and fibrous, and stringy... I've been getting gear net or jewel yams from whole foods that aren't that expensive and they taste amazing

[Moluv]

My husband will only eat them diced with skins on, roasted on a cast iron griddle with oil and salt until crispy. Baked or mashed or anything less than crispy edges he calls "baby food"

But I agree with the others, no point eating things you don't like. There is so much food.

[Moluv]

"Sweet Potawoes"

[Peregrinari]

Thanks so much for your ideas, everyone! I will definitely check out those two sites. I've been putting my pasta sauces on meats and the like (I've used fresh or canned tomatoes for ages so I've got a good stock on hand) but the zucchini idea sounds intriguing and it would be nice to change things up a bit. As a side note, are eggplants Whole30 approved? I used to work summers in Greece and fell in love with the food, so I was thinking of making some melizanosalata (eggplant dip - mostly eggplant with lemon, herbs, olive oil and garlic thrown in).

[Megan H]

Yep eggplants are all good. That dip sounds delicious,

[MelliebuStacey]

OP, have you tried making up some yam fries and W30 mayo for dipping?

Slice up a yam into not-too-thick wedges, toss in EVOO (or coconut oil) and garlic and salt and pepper, and put on a baking sheet. roast at 425 for 15 minutes per side...nomnom

[Mike Weiss]

What is Whole 30 mayo?

[MelliebuStacey]

search the recipe section on the forums, there are literally dozens of variations of W30-approved mayo

I use 1 egg:1 cup of EVOO, crack the egg into a jar, add the oil, and using an immersion blender, start at the bottom of the jar and veeeeryyyy sloooowwlllyyy pull it upwards without stopping the motor. My mom always made mayo that way

[Kirsteen]

Hi Mike, as Mellie said, it's homemade mayo. When I first started W30, I'd never have dreamed of making mayo, it just seemed like far too much work but it's really easy. http://www.theclothesmakethegirl.com/2010/06/03/the-secret-to-homemade-mayo-patience/ is the absolute foolproof recipe.

[Lora Friedenthal]

You could also try yuca or plantains for a starchy vegetable.

[LibLady]

I found I really liked sweet potatoes if I shredded them and cooked them in coconut oil as hash browns. Then I fried a couple of eggs over easy and ate them with the hash browns. It converted me!

[AmyS]

Great ideas - spaghetti squash is also tons of fun. I roast a whole one for about 45 min. to an hour at 400 degrees and then when it cools some I split it open and scoop out the seeds, then use a fork to get out the spaghetti-looking strands. Note: it's really tasty but not especially spaghetti-like in flavor. I really like it with non-pasta sauce additions - cumin, curry powder, salt, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, chopped avocado and tomato, that sort of thing.

I hated sweet potatoes for the first five months after I started eating this way. My taste buds have changed now and I have been eating them the last couple of weeks. But before that you couldn't get me to stuff them down. So don't worry - there are plenty of other starchy veggies out there. Have fun trying them out!

[MrsStick]

For any last few sweet potatoes you might currently have left, try doing non-sweet recipes. I converted one friend's husband who hates sweet potatoes by giving him sweet potato 'fries' made with olive oil, salt, pepper, and cumin. My hubby prefers them with garlic salt instead of regular salt/cumin. Non-sweet sweet potato recipes are delicious, and they aren't nearly as mushy.