Sweet Potato and Carrot Soup

Spray oil or 2 tspn olive oil
1 clove garlic, chopped finely
2 cm chunk of ginger, peeled and chopped finely
1 medium onion, diced
500g sweet potato, peeled and roughly chopped
2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
4 cups of water
¼ tspn ground nutmeg
ground pepper to taste

Spray or coat a saucepan with oil and add chopped onion, garlic and ginger.  Cook until soft.
Add all other ingredients and bring to the boil.  Turn down the heat and simmer.  Cover with a lid and cook for 20 – 30 minutes.
Blend until smooth.
Serve with a swirl of low fat natural yoghurt.
Serves 4.

Nutrition information – per serve – 490kJ, 3g protein, 2g fat, 21g carbohydrate, 4g fibre

Glycaemic Index of Sweet Potato Has Changed

Glycaemic index is a measure to see how slow or quick a food is digested and ends up as blood sugar.  The lower GI foods are used on a day-to-day basis for people with diabetes to help keep blood sugars stable.

Sweet potato when tested in research laboratories overseas came back with low GI (slow release) values.  Research in Australia indicates that the sweet potato available here has GI levels between 61 to 77, which is moderate GI.    To look up the values go to the Australian data base at www.glycemicindex.com

The values vary depending on the variety, different skin types and flesh colours.  This is the same with nutrients.  Beta carotene is high in sweet potato with orange coloured flesh and Vitamin C levels are higher in other varieties.