Sweet Potatoes: Fruit / Vegetable of the Month

Commonly called "yams" by Americans but not yams at all.

Contributing to the confusion is the fact that there are hundreds of varieties of sweet potatoes varying in both skin and flesh tones. Skins vary in tone from light brown to red skin and flesh varies in color from creamy white to bright orange flesh and even purple!

Sweet potatoes with orange flesh are sweeter and richer in beta carotene (vitamin A) and are certainly a favorite on the table in the month of November. But don't count the white fleshed sweet potatoes out. They make a great addition to soups and stews without greatly increasing the sweetness of the dish.

Sweet potatoes are an excellent source of vitamin A and vitamin C, rich in fiber and high in antioxidants. Sweet potatoes are also low in calories, one medium sweet potato contains only 100 calories.

Sweet potatoes are versatile and have more culinary potential than being stuck with brown sugar and marshmallows in a casserole dish. Sweet potatoes can be served in a variety of textures: julienne, cubed, mashed, or baked into crispy crackers and wholesome breads. Offer children sweet potatoes in a variety of ways to find their favorite.

Sweet potatoes are easy to cook in the microwave. Wash and pierce through the skin in several places to allow steam to vent. Cook one medium sweet potato for 8 minutes. Add 2-3 minutes for any additional potatoes. Slice and eat, peeling off the skins or peel and mash.

Mash
Drizzle mashed sweet potatoes with a bit of maple syrup, a dash of cinnamon and sprinkle on toasted nuts or coconut.

Bake Fries
Make baked fries by slicing julienne style. Toss each sliced sweet potato with around 1 teaspoon of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Complementary spices are chili powder, paprika and coriander. Bake on a greased cookie sheet in a 450 degree oven for 30 minutes, stirring midway.

Bake Chips
Prepare by slicing thinly with our without skin. Toss with 1 tablespoon of oil and sprinkle with salt and any desired spices. Spread onto a greased cookie sheet at make at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, flipping midway.

Bake into bread, muffins, cookies and crackers for an added nutritional boost.

We made sweet potato crackers for Play Group:

• We mixed 1-1/2 cups flour, 2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. We poured this dry mix into a food processor and added 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter and blended. 
• Then we mashed a medium orange fleshed sweet potato we cooked in the microwave with 1 teaspoon of sugar and mixed this into our flour blend. (Ours had small, visible chunks of sweet potato- for a more uniform appearance, add sweet potato and sugar to food processor and blend.)
• We divided dough into four even pieces and chilled. 
• Then we rolled out each ball between 2 sheets of parchment paper. 
• After pulling the top paper off, we cut the dough into squares and placed each square individually on a parchment lined cookie sheet. We also pierced each square with a fork to help prevent bubbles from forming. 
• We baked in an oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Then we flipped each cracker and baked for 10 additional minutes.
• On the last batch we decided to forgo pulling up each square and bake our entire grid. This way we could roll the dough very thin and we didn't have to trying peeling and replacing each individual cracker...and we saved time!

North Carolina is the leading state on sweet potato production, growing roughly 40% of our country's supply. Visit The North Carolina Sweet Potato Commission's website for a pop quiz on the difference between sweet potatoes and yams along with recipes with beautifully displayed photos that will make your mouth water and 5 school food service recipes- if scaled down would be great for child care providers as well.

If you are a child care provider in California you can receive cash reimbursements for providing healthy food to the children in your care. If you are a child care provider in El Dorado, Alpine, Placer, Nevada or Mono county our agency can help you enroll in the California Child Care Food Program (CCFP).

Recommended amounts of fruits and vegetables varies with age.

Children ages 2-3 need   1- 1.5 cups of fruits and 1- 1.5 cups of vegetables each day.

Children ages 4-8 need   1-2     cups of fruits and 1.5-2.5 cups of vegetables each day. 

Children ages 9-13 need 1.5-2  cups of fruits and 1.5-3.5 cups of vegetables each day.

Teens ages14-18 need   1.5 -2.5 cups of fruits and 2.5-4 cups of vegetables each day.

Keep in mind that fruits and vegetables are rich in essential vitamins and minerals needed for optimum growth and development. Check out  CDC's fruit and vegetable calculator for an more accurate recommendation based upon age, sex, and activity levels.

Remember your plate.......