Healthy Bites :: Singing the praises of the baked sweet potato fry
Looking for a healthy snack? Consider the sweet potato! Baked sweet potato fries are delicious, satisfying and nutritious and while they may seem forbidden, they shouldn't be. I can't believe we don't make these more often!
Baked Sweet Potato Fries - The forbidden snack that's good for you!
We are always on the lookout for a good afternoon snack. While I prefer to steer the kids to yogurt, fruit and veggie they prefer items that aren't quite as nutritionally dense. They go after the salt and the carbs, and sometimes the sugars. Sometimes I can tempt them with crispy chick peas. The other day my daughter had a hankering for sweet potato fries so she grabbed a sweet potato, cut it up into thin slices, placed them on a cookie sheet with an olive oil spray and sea salt. The result was delicious and because they weren't fried or swimming in oil, they were incredibly healthy. These sure beat reaching into that bag of chips!
The Nutritional benefits of the sweet potato
The nutritional benefits of the sweet potato are many. 1 medium sized sweet potato, about 1 cup has Calories 114, is virtually fat-free and loaded with all sorts of vitamins and minerals. Although sweet it has a fairly low sugar count and is a good source of dietary fiber:
Total Fat 0.1 g0%
Saturated fat 0 g0%
Polyunsaturated fat 0 g
Monounsaturated fat 0 g
Cholesterol 0 mg0%
Sodium 73 mg3%
Potassium 448 mg 12%
Total Carbohydrate 27 g9%
Dietary fiber 4 g 16%
Sugar 6 g
Protein 2.1 g4%
Vitamin A 377%
Vitamin C 5%
Calcium 4%
Iron 4%
Vitamin D 0%
Vitamin B-6 15%
Vitamin B-120%
Magnesium 8%
Ingredients:
(Makes 1 serving)
1 medium sized sweet potato, washed,
1 can of olive oil spray
Sea salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400
Wash the sweet potato and cut into slices, thin or thick depending on your preference
Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil
Spray the slices generously with the olive oil spray
Flip the slices over and gently absorb any excess oil so that both sides are cover.
Sprinkle with salt
Bake for 15 minutes and check for doneness. Fries should be lightly browned.
Rotate fries and remove to oven for another 5-10 minutes, or until desired golden color is achieved.
Let cool about 5 minutes before serving.
I was looking for a little snack early yesterday evening to tie me over until dinner... The sweet potato fries went quite well with my Super Tuscan!
Baked Sweet Potato Fries - The forbidden snack that's good for you!