These are the hottest potatoes in restaurants these days. No wonder…These little spears are so tasty. They’re sweeter than a regular potato and far more nutritious. Instead of deep frying, I’m baking them coated with a small amount of olive oil. Each serving has 136 calories, 5 grams of fat and 5 Weight Watchers SmartPoints. A medium size French fries at Carl’s Jr has an astounding 710 calories and 33 grams of fat!!!
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Bake Time: 25-30 minutes
Ingredients
2 (12 oz) bags Sweet Potato Spears from Trader Joe’s or 2 large sweet potatoes (~2 pounds, unpeeled)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
Fresh ground pepper, to taste
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. If you’re not using already prepped bags, peel the sweet potatoes and cut into ⅛ inch spears.
3. Place sweet potato spears on a baking pan. Drizzle olive oil over potatoes. Using your hands, toss well to evenly coat.
4. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, to taste.
5. Bake for 25-30 minutes until tender and crisp. Turn potatoes once during baking.
Serves 6 (about ⅔ cup each)
Food Facts
Sweet potatoes are sweeter than a regular potato and grow in warmer climates.
In America, we grow two main types of sweet potatoes. One is a pale sweet potato and the other is a darker- skinned variety.
Healthy Benefits
Sweet potatoes have a high nutritional value. They’re loaded with vitamin A. In fact, one sweet potato has twice the amount of vitamin A a person needs in one day. They also contain an impressive amount of potassium, fiber and vitamin C.
Shopping Tip
I found prepped sweet potato spears at Trader Joe’s and many supermarkets also carry bags of prepped them.
Storage Tip
Store sweet potatoes as you would white potatoes, in a cool, dry place.
Weight Watchers SmartPoints 5
Weight Watchers POINTS PLUS 4
SKINNY FACTS: for 1 serving (about ⅔ cup) 136 calories, 5g fat, 1g sat. fat, 0mg chol, 1g protein, 24g carbs, 4g fiber, 170mg sodium, 4g sugar |
FAT FACTS: for a medium Carls Jr. French fries 710 calories, 33g fat, 8g protein, 62g carbs, 5g fiber, 1790mg sodium, 1g sugar |