SWEET POTATO SUNSHINE SALAD [AIP RECIPE]

Salads have always been stereotyped as the ideal healthy meal, but do they serve their purpose?

For a long time, I was confined to lettuce, bottled dressings with too much sugar, and croutons that were just about empty carbs and called healthy.

Only when I started reading the labels of these so-called ‘healthy’ foods did I understand that a makeover was imminent.

Enter the sweet potato sunshine salad, a colourful and wholesome meal that puts whatever salad I had before in perspective and makes sense.

This salad contains roasted sweet potato and crunchy toppings covered with tangy coconut yoghurt dressing. Guys, his salad tastes delicious and is also healthy.

I want to help you improve your salads and look for healthy replacements you enjoy eating.

The Hidden Dangers of Store-Bought Salad Dressings

What were the bought-in/pre-packaged dressings I had been accustomed to?

Well, let’s just say they were more like sugar bombs in the forms than food-like rather than what should go on my food. And those croutons? Well, just small carb bombs that provided the bite but very little nutrition.

Thus, I understood that despite my good intentions in eating healthy, I was not helping myself.

The Sweet Potato Sunshine Salad: A Game Changer

Growing up, I never really had any health issues, but eventually, I ended up having other medical problems that required me to watch my weight.

Canned food, other sugars, and fattening foods were out of the question if I wanted to look my best. That is when I made Kellogg’s Peach mango and coco salad for the first time.

So, before you roll your eyes at the title and ridicule it as another ‘healthy’ salad, this is not your ordinary bowl of greens.

My version includes roasted sweet potatoes, thick and crunchy kale (I know, right!), and crunchy coconut and chia seeds.

And the dressing? Coconut yoghurt with herbs, which is creamy and slightly tangy. That’s a WOW!

The Truth About Traditional Salads

Here’s the thing: Salad has a deceptive reputation. It appears to be the healthiest dish, but salad is usually the opposite of what it pretends to be. I mean, think of someone like you.

How often have you ordered a salad only to feel like you would have been better off ordering a burger afterwards?

Hidden Dangers: Dressings and Toppings

Before I began preparing salads for myself, I was self-destructing daily without even noticing it. I used to smother my healthy greens in some ready dressing and pat myself on the back, thinking I was eating healthy.

Wrong! These dressings are loaded with sugar, preservatives, and other unhealthy fats.

These are some of the industry’s sneaky tricks to fool our bodies into thinking we are doing good things when, in fact, we are not.

Rethinking Salad for Better Health

Lastly, the toppings: croutons, bacon, and cheese bits. I hate those crunchy, savoury croutons piled high on my salad.

But, to be honest, the free extra breadsticks are known to contribute nothing apart from empty carbohydrates to the body; I mean, croutons have no health benefits.

And then there is bacon and cheese, which are stuffed with complaints of cholesterol bombs waiting to go off in the arteries.

Those are not ideal choices when one is trying to prevent heart health issues, as they were for me.

Due to my health concerns about sugar control and avoiding inflammatory foods, I soon noticed that my everyday salads were more beneficial or healthy.

Sometimes, it was like trying to douse a fire but instead spreading more gasoline.

If I had been persistent with them in the long run, I would have had to change my whole mindset regarding salads.

Sweet Potato Sunshine Salad

Then, I sensed it was the right moment to take charge of the scenario.

Salads had vexed me so much that it was time to start enjoying them without the guilt punctuating every bite.

To such an extent that I went to the kitchen and put the right ingredients in place of the bad ones, the ones that my body and taste budy saith fain.

What happened next? My Sweet Potato Sunshine Salad is colourful, hearty and filled with delicious flavours.

The Star Ingredient: Roasted Sweet Potatoes

There’s no denying that sweet potatoes are the core value of this salad. Olive oil, rosemary, and thyme do miracles to roasted sweet potatoes, turning them into flavoursome crispy bites.

It’s like candy, except this one invites no guilt. And since sweet potatoes are rich in fibre and vitamins, they can be used as healthy substitutes for those dreaded croutons.

Elevating the Salad with Homemade Dressing and Nutty Toppings

Instead of sloshing the salad with mayo, I use a bland but luscious coconut yoghurt dressing. It is thick and rich yet very light, driven by a refreshing combination of fresh basil and shallots.

It is incredible how transforming the salad with homemade dressing can make one feel like she just had her daily gourmet meal.

For the greens, I prefer to combine two exceptionally nutrient-dense greens: baby spinach and shredded cabbage.

I often use baby spinach for its delicate taste and excellent nutrition and cabbage for its texture.

I added a drained and rinsed can of cannellini beans, which added protein and made the salad filling enough to serve as a meal by itself.

Why You Should Care About What Goes Into Your Salad

If you, dear reader, have ever suffered from any number of health issues, such as I have diabetes, heart problems, or simply wanting to be in better shape than you are, now there is one thing you know: it helps to pay attention to your diet.

The scary part is that even the so-called healthy foods can worsen things instead of improving the situation.

The Hidden Dangers of Store-Bought Dressings

The same goes for those large pots of ready-to-serve dressings that are widely sold. Most of them, including this salad and sauce, contain too much added sugar, unhealthy fats, or preservatives.

For someone like me who has to control my glucose levels and keep my inflammation levels moderate, these dressings were a recipe for catastrophe.

This is infuriating trying to make a better choice, only to do more harm than good.

Salad Toppings: Tasty But Risky

The same goes for those yummy croutons and a little cheese or bacon hiding in the salad bowl’s bottom. Of course, they taste fantastic, but they are not free.

Croutons can be characterized as non-filling, useless carbs. Cheese and bacon are full of saturated fats, which are cholesterol inducers. And the all-time favourite is the quantity of sodium.

This is how I began to prepare my salads instead of buying pre-packaged ones.

It may be a bit inconvenient compared to simply reaching for a salad from the store, but believe me, your body will thank you for that.

How I Make My Sweet Potato Sunshine Salad

Ingredients

For Roasted Sweet Potatoes:

Ingredient	Quantity
Sweet potato (12 ounces), peeled and diced (1/2-inch)	1
Olive oil	3 tsp
Salt	To taste
Ground pepper	To taste
Fresh rosemary, chopped	1 tsp
Fresh thyme, chopped	1 tsp

For Herby Vinaigrette:

For Salad:

Ingredient	Quantity
Baby spinach	10 cups
Cannellini beans (rinsed and drained)	1 (15-ounce) can
Shredded cabbage	2 cups
Chopped pecans or tiger nuts (toasted for extra crunch)	1/3 cup

Instructions

1. Turn your oven on to a temperature of 400 degrees Fahrenheit, 200 degrees centigrade. At the same time, heat scoat your diced sweet potatoes in a bowl with olive oil, salt, ground pepper, rosemary, and thyme. Arrange them in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast for 20-25 minutes. Make sure to flip them over so that each edge turns out just the way you like it.
2. Let’s prepare the dressing while the sweet potatoes are roasting. If you like, throw a few basil leaves, lemon juice, and shallot with finely chopped pieces in a blender or a food processor. Blend well, and add a little oil in a drizzle with the blender. This helps achieve a consistent creamy mouthfeel; the vinaigrette is meant to help the salad.
3. Add the baby spinach, cannelloni beans, shredded cabbage, and roasted sweet potatoes in a large bowl. Give it a gentle toss so as not to crush the sweet potatoes.
4. Pour the herby vinaigrette over the salad and toss decoratively to ensure every part is well-dressed.
5. Finally, top with toasted pecans or tiger nuts for extra crunch. Serve immediately while the sweet potatoes are still hot.

Nutritional Breakdown

Here’s what you’re getting with each serving of this Sweet Potato Sunshine Salad:

Nutritional Information	Amount
Calories	230 kcal
Protein	8g
Fat	11g
Carbohydrates	29g
Fiber	7g
Sugars	7g

But it isn’t all about the stats alone. Speaking of nutrients, this salad has components that are good for the heart, help maintain blood sugar level and provide energy to the body throughout the day.

Why This Salad Stands Out

It says salads can be delicious, satisfying, and healthy if you think outside the box.

This salad is a must-try for those ready to make healthier, natural food choices without giving up on goodness. No one will feel like there are no products from a bottle.

As such, eating right does not necessarily mean being miserable. At times, only a ray of sunshine in the form of roasted sweet potatoes can make a dull salad seem very celebratory.

My Opinion