Sweet Potato Chips

These sweet potato chips can be paired with your favourite dip, like this Beetroot Hummus or a bean dip for an awesome snack, or served alongside your favourite burger at dinner or sandwich at lunch to add that yummy crunch factor.

Vegetables are a fantastic source of many key nutrients that help to promote overall health, such as fibre, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K and more. Unfortunately, most of us do not get enough vegetables each day. This snack is a great way to incorporate vegetables in a fun and delicious way, and is great for the whole family.

A common question I get asked is what is the difference between yams and sweet potatoes, as these names are often used interchangeably in grocery stores and food establishments. Yams aren’t as common as you’d think. They have a thick, scaly, rough, brown skin and the flesh is typically white in colour and they have a very starchy taste. Sweet potatoes on the other hand have a thin, smoother skin and there are many varieties. The flesh of a sweet potato can be orange, white, or purple, with copper, beige, red, or purple skin. As you might guess based on the name, the flesh of a sweet potato is also sweeter than a yam or regular potato.

Root vegetables, such as turnips, parsnips, sweet potatoes, yams, beets, potatoes, and carrots grow underground and absorb a great amount of nutrients from the soil. Sweet potatoes are rich in vitamin C and A, which can have benefits on the health of your immune system, eyes, skin and hair. Moreover, sweet potatoes are high in antioxidants and chlorogenic acid, which is an anti-inflammatory compound that can help reduce insulin spikes and lower blood cholesterol levels. The starches and fibre found in sweet potatoes also make them a great source of stable energy for hours after eating.

Written by Sofya Borisenko and Liz Powell, RD

1. Choong C. Teow, Van-Den Truong, Roger F. Mc Feeters, Roger L. Thompson, Kenneth V. Pecota, G. CraigYencho (2006). Antioxidant activities, phenolic and β-carotene contents of sweet potato genotypes with varying flesh colours. Food Chemistry. 103 (3), pp 829-838.
2. Rautenbach, F., Faber, M., Laurie, S. and Laurie, R. (2010), Antioxidant Capacity and Antioxidant Content in Roots of 4 Sweetpotato Varieties. Journal of Food Science, 75: C400-C405.