when you think of sweet potatoes i hope the first thing that comes to mind is not the thanksgiving version that is steeped in sugar and topped with marshmallows! if this is your only familiarity with this vegetable i don’t think you have had a proper representation on what this delicious root vegetable can bring to a meal. depending on what part of the country you are in you may see sweet potatoes interchanged with “yam. ” in some places sweet potatoes are white-fleshed and not very sweet. the type i love are also referred to as garnet yams which are a rich yellow-orange color with a brownish skin. sweet potatoes are considered one of the most nutritional vegetables around (if they aren’t soaked in sugar and marshmallows of course! ). they are an excellent source of vitamin a and also boast vitamin c and manganese. in addition sweet potatoes are a good source of copper dietary fiber vitamin b6 potassium and iron. this vegetable has been consumed for at least 10 000 years (sweet potato parts found in peruvian caves have been dated that old). besides the sweet flavor and great source of fiber nutrition that sweet potatoes bring to the table i love how versatile they are. they can be cooked pureed and mixed into pancakes in the morning. yes pancakes! they can be part of a great soup at lunch. also by cutting them into cubes and steaming or roasting then chilling you can add them to salads. or how about this: for lunch one day i reheated some roasted sweet potato spears from dinner the night before added a bit of sesame kale leftover rotisserie chicken and rolled into a sprouted corn tortilla for an unusual taco that my friend kristen still swears is one of her favorite things i’ve ever made. here’s one of the simplest preparations for sweet potatoes: heat your oven to 450 degrees. cut them into one-inch wedges toss them with extra virgin olive oil a bit of soy sauce salt and pepper and roast on a sheet pan until soft (make sure there is space around the spears or they will steam as they cook). they cook much quicker this way then if you were to bake them whole and the flavor is fantastic. so next time you’re at the store and considering buying some plain old russet potatoes why not switch it up and try out the flavorful and nutritious sweet potato?
what are some ideas for cooking sweet potatoes?