I recently read Sweet Potato Power by Ashley Tudor and I admit that at first, I was somewhat skeptical of a 250+ page book completely about sweet potatoes, but Ashley did a great job.
While this book definitely has some great sweet potato recipes, it also has an easy-to-understand explanation of why a grain free diet is helpful and why sweet potatoes are an exceptional carb source for those of us who are grain free.
This book would be especially beneficial for athletes who feel that they need the additional carbs for the activity level but don’t want to get them from grains or processed foods. Ashley even includes recipes for natural sweet potato based sports drinks.
Sweet Potato Power also has a wonderful and easy to understand explanation of the body’s hormone systems and why excess carbs can damage proper hormone levels.
Ashley does a great job of addressing the importance of sleep and how stressors such as lack of sleep or harmful foods can cause chronic inflammation throughout the body. I was impressed with the way she explained how over-exercising can cause as much stress as not exercising at all.
What Is Best for YOUR Body
One of my favorite parts of this book is how it breaks down how while each of our bodies is very different, there are still substances (grains, sugars, etc.) that are not good for anyone. Sweet Potato Power gives great resources of figuring out what method is right for your body within the healthy eating framework.
Sweet Potato Power provides resources for self-testing and for finding a good doctor in your area.
I’m a big fan of self-testing glucose levels to monitor my own glucose reaction to different foods and Sweet Potato Power gives a great guide for how to do this on your own.
Oh the Recipes…
Sweet Potato Power includes some great sweet potato recipes including (my two favorites) Sweet Potato Linguine and Sweet Potato Quiche. There’s even a recipe for sweet potato cupcakes (which are on my list to try this week!)
I’d definitely recommend Sweet Potato Power and it would be especially beneficial for athletes who are trying to figure out how to incorporate healthy carbs without eating grains or sugars.
Have you read Sweet Potato Power? What did you think? Let me know below!
Looking at the paleo diet, I’m afraid that I can’t agree with it totally. I actually feel the best when I eat mostly vegetarian, especially at the end of the day. I don’t think cutting out carbs is a good idea, I get a lot of energy from them. I am choosy what kind of carbs I go for. These would include: quinoa (not techn. a grain), brown rice, sprouted wheat, and spelt.