By Kathryn B., Farm to School Manager
Sweet Potatoes are not only a super healthy and delicious vegetable, but easy to cook at home in a variety of ways. You can add them to desserts, savory dishes, or eat them on their own! Another awesome thing about sweet potatoes is that here in New York they can be found well into the winter - including in our Winter CSA!
Sweet potatoes are high in vitamins and an excellent choice to help “Eat the Rainbow” as we like to say, and get your daily servings of vegetables. Cube and add them to a breakfast hash, a burrito, or chili for something savory and packed with nutrients!
In our Poughkeepsie Food Power after-school program, students love to make Sweetie Pie Smoothies, Sweet Potato Pudding, and Sweet Potato Hummus with roasted sweet potatoes! They are often amazed at how sweet and flavorful these dishes are without adding sugar. Scroll down for even more recipes, a coloring sheet and cooking ideas!
Did you know? Famous inventor George Washington Carver, known for his work with peanuts, also experimented with sweet potatoes as a crop to help improve soil and give new cash crops to farmers who had only been growing cotton. He found hundreds of uses for them and his work on crop rotation and innovative products helped many farmers to survive and make a good living.
Learn more on our previous blog : 7 Contributions of Black Farmers to Agriculture
WHAT TO KNOW WHEN YOU GET YOUR SWEETS:
Store them in a cool, dry place like a pantry to make them last longer. You don’t have to peel them! Just scrub them clean and cook them up.
Though they are often confused, sweet potatoes are not the same as yams or potatoes. They are actually a root vegetable that is related to the morning glory! Yams are larger and originated in Africa, though they can be cooked in similar ways.
Learn More and Try Our Favorite Recipes:
Sweetie Pie Smoothie
Sweet Potato Batata Dulce
Smoky Sweet Potato Hummus
Recipe Sweet Potato Carbonara from Vermont Harvest of the Month