Friday Food Fact: Sweet Potatoes

In comes the new year and along with it a new addition to the 'Food & Water' blog, the 'Friday Food Fact'. As many of y'all know one of my big goals is to help people live a better life through better nutrition. In order for us to become healthier and eat better we must first know what foods are good for us to eat and how they will help us. I'm always searching for new and interesting information about food and nutrition so if you come across something helpful please post it on the blog so we can all learn together. Remember to check back every Friday for a new 'Friday Food Fact'. I couldn't think of a food more fitting to start with than a Sweet Potato. I absolutely love these things and eat them like crazy. You might also be interested to know that Usain Bold, the fastest man in the World and Olympic Champion, credits his speed to the Jamaican Sweet Potato...eat up baby!Food: Sweet Potato History: Researchers have found Sweet Potato relics in Peruvian caves dating back as far as 10,000 years but the Sweet Potato wasn't introduced to Europe until 1492 when Christopher Columbus brought it back from the New World. Nutritional Benefit: High in vitamin C, vitamin A, and provide powerful antioxidants. Sweet Potatoes contain about twice the dietary fiber of the ordinary Russet potato. Ways to Cook: I personally love to simply bake them whole in the oven and eat them plain. Dang they are good. The longer they bake the sweeter they seem to become. Steaming is supposed to keep the maximum nutrients in the food while it cooks but I never think it tastes as good that way. Another great preparation is to chop the potato into cubes, place it in the oven with some chopped Rosemary, wait for the pieces to become tender....BAM now that's a good side dish! It's also easy and works great to interchange Sweet Potatoes for regular baking potatoes in many recipes. I'd love to hear what y'all think of my new addition of the 'Friday Food Fact'. Also please share any recipes or thoughts you may have on each particular Food Fact. Remember, eating healthy is not hard and tastes great...you just have to make the choice to do it.