Sweet potatoes were not a staple in my household when I was growing up, so when they started popping up everywhere a few years ago, I didn’t really know what to think.
They were a potato, but orange? and sweet? And weren’t they just the same thing as a yam, anyways?
(Turns out, they’re different, but I still think they taste the same.)
I read that they had lots of vitamins and lots of fiber, something my diet was lacking. It doesn’t hurt that half a cup of sweet potato counts toward Canada’s Food Guide’s recommended servings of one orange vegetable and one green vegetable per day.
So I tried one, baked, and I loved it and have never looked back.
They’re versatile—you can eat it plain, with a little salt and pepper, or sweeten it even more with brown sugar. Or you can make your own sweet potato fries: just slice it up, coat with some olive oil and spices (I personally love cayenne) and bake it around 350°F for about 12 minutes or until they’re crispy.
Sweet potatoes can also be used in different ways—like in a soup or sweet potato biscuits.
I used to be the pickiest eater ever. If it looked funny, I wouldn’t try it. If it looked mushy, I wouldn’t even put it on my plate. And if it was an “unknown vegetable,” there was no way it was going to take the place of my beloved green beans and broccoli.
But sweet potatoes eventually became a staple in my undergrad diet.
