How Sweet It Is - Vitamin-packed Sweet Potatoes Leave White Spuds in the Dirt

A primary source of nourishment for native Americans, earlyEuropean colonists and soldiers during both the Revolutionary and Civil Wars,sweet potatoes later were relegated to holiday tables, served as a complementto Thanksgiving turkey or holiday roast.

Today, sweet potatoes are making a comeback: orange-fleshedmashes, fries and tots are commonly found on restaurant menus and in thefrozen-food aisle at grocery stores. Though fried potatoes of any color shouldbe eaten sparingly, baked or boiled sweet potatoes offer exceptional healthbenefits. 

Power Up

Considered one of the healthiest vegetables of all, sweetpotatoes are the root of a tropical vine in the morning- glory family. Brimmingwith beta-carotene, fiber and vitamins A (five times the recommended dailyintake), C and E, they’re a good choice when it comes to adding cancer-fightingnutrients to your diet and improving digestive health. Compared to white (alsocalled Irish) potatoes, they have more vitamins, more fiber, fewer calories andfewer total carbs—despite having more sugar. They’re also fat-free.

Buy | Store | Serve

When shopping, choose sweet potatoes that are firm andsmooth, without bruises or discoloration. Store them unwashed in a cool, dryplace and use within three to five weeks. Sweetness increases during storage.Don’t refrigerate—the cold turns the potato’s natural sugars to starch. Likewhite potatoes, sweet potatoes can be baked, grilled, boiled or microwaved.

Lightly season with salt and pepper or highlight their sweetside by sprinkling with brown sugar and cinnamon. For healthy potato chips,slice thinly, brush lightly with olive oil and bake for 15 minutes at 350degrees (or until lightly browned and crisp). Try adding thinly sliced, cookedsweet potato to your sandwich, or pop sweet-potato slices on the grill untilbrowned to your liking, then drizzle with lime juice. And of course, you canmash them. You can even try them raw by shredding onto a salad.

Did You Know?

Sweet potatoes and yams are two different vegetables, withsweet potatoes offering more nutritional benefits and being more widely availablein the U.S.