Vegetable of the Month

It's that time again!

This month's veggie is....

Sweet Potatoes!

We already talked once about potatoes, but sweet potatoes are a whole other breed unto themselves.  These popular potatoes have a much sweeter flavour (duh) than regular potatoes, and are a bright, colourful addition to your plate.

Here's the scoop!

According to the Canadian Nutrient File, one medium sweet potato (about 130g, including skin) contains:

• Only 112 calories!  FOR A WHOLE SWEET POTATO!
• 26g of carbohydrate
• 2g of protein
• about 4g of fibre
• practically zero fat!
• More than 100% of your daily Vitamin A needs!!
• 3% of your daily folate needs
• 4% of a woman's daily iron needs (9% for men)
• 9% of your daily potassium needs (more than 1 medium banana!)

Sweet potatoes are available year round and - yes!  They're available in Ontario right now!

Are sweet potatoes and yams the same thing?
No.  Though they look very similar from the outside, they taste quite different on the inside.  Yams are starchier and drier than sweet potatoes, and tend to be grown primarily in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean.  Sweet potatoes have a much lower glycemic index than yams (meaning that they won't cause large spikes in blood glucose), and are higher in beta-carotene than yams.  In North America, chances are good that you're eating sweet potatoes, even though they might be mislabeled as yams.
This doesn't mean that yams are bad for you or not full of great nutritive value though - they're still super sources of fibre and potassium, still have no fat, and just a tad more calories than a sweet potato.  If you're looking for actual yams, you might have to look farther than your neighbourhood grocery store - they're sold in international stores and Caribbean grocery stores, but not often in your local No Frills.

How to use sweet potatoes

Just like regular potatoes, sweet potatoes are very versatile and can be enjoyed in many ways - roasted, mashed, fried, baked, in chunks in soups and stews.  It can even be made into pie :)

Conveniently, I happened to be making sweet potato fries this week anyway.  Behold!

Spicy Sweet Potato Fries
Don't like things spicy?  Just take out the cayenne and crushed red pepper.  You can add other flavours like cinnamon and nutmeg, or garlic powder, or keep it simple with just salt and pepper.

• 2 sweet potatoes
• about 1-2 Tbsp canola oil, just enough to lightly coat the fries (I use canola because it has a more neutral taste and a lower smoke point to prevent accidental smoke detector incidents. You can totes use olive oil if you have that instead)
• about 1tsp each cayenne and crushed red pepper flakes (adjust to your taste)
• salt and pepper to taste (about 1/2 to 1tsp of each)

1. Preheat your oven to 450 C.

2. Cut your sweet potatoes into fry shapes, trying to get each piece around the same size so that they all cook evenly.  You can make big chunky wedge fries or thinner McDonalds-sized fries, whatever your taste.

3. Meanwhile, put your fries into a bowl, along with your spices, salt and pepper, and oil.  Mix mix mix...

4. Arrange your fries in a single layer on the sheet.  This is important -- they need to be in a single layer and, ideally, have a bit of space around them in order to get good and crispy :)!  Some people report that using parchment paper can help make crispiness happen.  Plain old baking sheets also work well, but look out for sticking.  

5. Bake for 15 minutes, then flip them over to cook on the other side, and cook for another 10-15 minutes.

6. Eat.  Om nom nom nom...

Voila - crispy fries!  And with only about 2 Tbsp of oil in that ENTIRE recipe, they're a much healthier version than the deep-fried version sold at your local burger joint.