Sweet Potato Vs Its Evil Brother

A_Sober_Paddy

Hey all,

So I'm currently trying to sort out my diet, and I've been told by everyone Sweet Potatoes are better then regular Potatoes...

Is there any truth in this?

From what I can see, there difference in calories are fairly negligible, but there is a big difference in the vitamins provided by both...

So which is the better(healthier) option?

Cheers in advance

Transform

A_Sober_Paddy wrote: »

Hey all,

So I'm currently trying to sort out my diet, and I've been told by everyone Sweet Potatoes are better then regular Potatoes...

Is there any truth in this?

From what I can see, there difference in calories are fairly negligible, but there is a big difference in the vitamins provided by both...

So which is the better(healthier) option?

Cheers in advance

The sweet potato = higher nutrient quality, lower gi and IMO tastes better.

A_Sober_Paddy

Transform wrote: »

The sweet potato = higher nutrient quality, lower gi and IMO tastes better.

Yes I would agree with you on the taste, superior to the regular potato...

Gummy Panda

A_Sober_Paddy wrote: »

Transform wrote: »

The sweet potato = higher nutrient quality, lower gi and IMO tastes better.

Yes I would agree with you on the taste, superior to the regular potato...

You two are mad. White potato is the tasty potato.

A_Sober_Paddy

Gummy Panda wrote: »

You two are mad. White potato is the tasty potato.

Only when its mixed with lots of Milk and Butter yes. But the amount of both makes them fairly unhealthy

frag420

ok dont shoot me but..........................where can I get sweet potatoe wedges. As in the frozen type. I love sweet potatoes but its time consuming cutting and cooking the damn things!!

Any suggestions?

rocky

Get a bit of both and stop obsessing over minute details

rubadub

frag420 wrote: »

ok dont shoot me but..........................where can I get sweet potatoe wedges.

I have never seen them. You could get a chip cutter device. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kitchen-Craft-Potato-Chipper-Stainless/dp/B0001IWVO4/ref=sr_1_1?m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1340024946&sr=1-1

if you total order is over £25 with amazon you get free delivery, and it can be mix & matched from any department.

They could be done in batches and frozen yourself. I was thinking of making sweet potato chips in a deep fryer with coconut oil as a better alternative to chipper chips.

accensi0n

rocky wrote: »

Get a bit of both and stop obsessing over minute details

It's not a minute detail when one of them tastes super mega ultra amazing. (Obviously I'm talking about the sweet potato cooked till very soft with butter)

Brian?

A_Sober_Paddy wrote: »

Only when its mixed with lots of Milk and Butter yes. But the amount of both makes them fairly unhealthy

Milk and butter do not make anything at all unhealthy. Unless you have a problem digesting diary.

I love both sweet and normal spuds, tis all about moderation though. As Transform said SPs are lower GI, but that doesn't make normal spuds "evil".

Sea Filly

I'm not keen on sweet potato, taste or texture-wise, except mashed with other root veg. I just find them too, well, sweet. It just comes down to personal taste, I think.

El_Dangeroso

Gummy Panda wrote: »

You two are mad. White potato is the tasty potato.

God yes, what are people thinking? Sweet potatoes are weird and taste funny, potatoes by their definition should not be sweet. Ugh.

Did we choose to eat sweet potato as 90% of our calories for 300 years? No. No we didn't. Eating sweet potato is both immoral and unpatriotic.

Sea Filly

^^^^^

Know you're joking, but I really don't enjoy the sweetness of sweet potato. Yack! Nothing wrong with preferring regular over sweet.

El_Dangeroso

Sea Filly wrote: »

^^^^^

Know you're joking, but I really don't enjoy the sweetness of sweet potato. Yack! Nothing wrong with preferring regular over sweet.

Oh I'm deadly serious. I find sweet potato abhorrent, along with any 'sweet' tasting starches like butternut squash or pumpkin.. bleugh..

In Australia pumpkin soup is the default soup, like country vegetable is over hear, it is rank. I found it really easy to lose weight over there, the food is rank overall. Who puts beetroot in a flipping burger ffs!

littlefriend

El_Dangeroso wrote: »

Eating sweet potato is unpatriotic.

fizzyorange

I don't like normal potatoes, no taste imo. Sweet potatoes don't take as long to cook and they taste better. It's all really down to personal preference though. Like if you can't stand the taste of sweet potatoes, just eat some regular ones.

jam_mac_jam

I think its a bit silly. They are both not that different in nutrient. Potatos are good for you, they are filling and full of nutrients. Its similar to the all fat is bad we used to hear, now all carbs are bad, allegedly. Its one of the reasons the bull**** detector goes off in my head when I read those paleo diet people, dont get me wrong some of what they say make sense but white potato bad sweet potato good, nope I am not getting it.

A_Sober_Paddy

Hey guys just to clarify.

I don't buy into the notion that carbs are bad, in fact I make an effort to include enough carbs in my diet.

With me referring to white potatoes as "the evil brother", it was coming from the way people are now talking about white potato in comparison to sweet potatoes.

Everywhere you read about trying to lose weight/get healthier, it always seems to suggest dropping whites for sweet.

So the reason I started the thread was in the search for someone to give me an answer as to weather or not the sweet variety is better than the white.

At the moment I'm trying to clean up my diet and I'm looking for as much information as possible. I prefer the taste of sweet potatoes, but if whites are better I'll still include them as well as sweet.

CJhaughey

Sweet potatoes aren't true spuds, they are a very distant relative.
You can eat the leaves from them, unlike the true Potato.

Mellor

El_Dangeroso wrote: »

Oh I'm deadly serious. I find sweet potato abhorrent, along with any 'sweet' tasting starches like butternut squash or pumpkin.. bleugh..

Butternut pumpkin/squash is lovely when its prepared right.

In Australia pumpkin soup is the default soup, like country vegetable is over hear, it is rank. I found it really easy to lose weight over there, the food is rank overall. Who puts beetroot in a flipping burger ffs!

Butternut pumpkin soup and beetroot aside (fairly distinct tastes tbf), I find the food is Oz is pretty good. Much better variety than back in Ireland imo*. Basing this on sydney and melbourne, that both have a bit of a restaurant scene. Somewhere more remote you'll be given steak or schnitzel with mash or chips.

*One exception that I missed was Irish Chinese curry. Some strange but delicious version that exists only in irish take aways.

rubadub

Mellor wrote: »

*One exception that I missed was Irish Chinese curry. Some strange but delicious version that exists only in irish take aways.

Get yourself some goldfish brand chinese curry sauce paste. It is a thick solid paste so would travel well, and it can be ordered online. They do a normal, hot & spicy & madras. They are all good, I would go for hot & spicy or madras. Just gets mixed with water and boiled for a few minutes, makes loads.

Anyone I gave it to was shocked at it being so similar to Chinese takeaways.

If they have Asian shops over they they might have it, there are a few other brands I have seen mentioned, like mayflower.

banquet

rubadub wrote: »

Mellor wrote: »

*One exception that I missed was Irish Chinese curry. Some strange but delicious version that exists only in irish take aways.

Get yourself some goldfish brand chinese curry sauce paste. It is a thick solid paste so would travel well, and it can be ordered online. They do a normal, hot & spicy & madras. They are all good, I would go for hot & spicy or madras. Just gets mixed with water and boiled for a few minutes, makes loads.

Anyone I gave it to was shocked at it being so similar to Chinese takeaways.

If they have Asian shops over they they might have it, there are a few other brands I have seen mentioned, like mayflower.

Can this sauce be bought in Dublin?

Mellor

rubadub wrote: »

Get yourself some goldfish brand chinese curry sauce paste. It is a thick solid paste so would travel well, and it can be ordered online. They do a normal, hot & spicy & madras. They are all good, I would go for hot & spicy or madras. Just gets mixed with water and boiled for a few minutes, makes loads.

Anyone I gave it to was shocked at it being so similar to Chinese takeaways.

If they have Asian shops over they they might have it, there are a few other brands I have seen mentioned, like mayflower.

I'll have a look for that, thanks. Have a feeling i seen it before.
It's not something I hugely miss. I make a pretty good thai green and red curry. Also like Nandos curry if in a rush. But chinese menus here always stands out as being totally different to home, suppose they are more "authentic". The times I've went to a chinese take away I've left because, its not what I wanted.

McDonalds curry is popular here on menus of irish pubs. This is the irish "chipper" curry, so sorted on that front

rubadub

banquet wrote: »

Can this sauce be bought in Dublin?

Yes, the Chinese shop on Georges street in the city centre near the georges arcade. And in blackrock market there is a permanent shop open until 8 each night, but they put the price up last time I was in. I think it was 2.50 or so in town, and 3.50 in blackrock.

Some other brands were mentioned in this old thread
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055896676

Mellor wrote: »

McDonalds curry is popular here on menus of irish pubs. This is the irish "chipper" curry, so sorted on that front

Yeah, thats the one they use. A trick is to look online for wholesalers who are supplying takeaways. Many do not use real vinegar it is non-brewed condiment
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-brewed_condiment

Bad Panda

frag420 wrote: »

ok dont shoot me but..........................where can I get sweet potatoe wedges. As in the frozen type. I love sweet potatoes but its time consuming cutting and cooking the damn things!!

Any suggestions?

It takes a half hour

robot7080

Transform wrote: »

The sweet potato = higher nutrient quality, lower gi and IMO tastes better.

+1

Transform

Bad Panda wrote: »

It takes a half hour

Exactly - the people that complain things take too long to prepare and cook will forever be chasing their tails. Always cook for two meals instead of just one

Dotcomdolly

In dunnes (until sat evening) they have Sam's Spudz sweet potatoes for 49c.
They come in a steamer bag for the microwave that takes 5 minutes.
I often used them cooked in a hash or similar.

A_Sober_Paddy

Dotcomdolly wrote: »

In dunnes (until sat evening) they have Sam's Spudz sweet potatoes for 49c.
They come in a steamer bag for the microwave that takes 5 minutes.
I often used them cooked in a hash or similar.

They sell them in Lidl too and they are 49c in there all the time

Mellor

frag420 wrote: »

ok dont shoot me but..........................where can I get sweet potatoe wedges. As in the frozen type. I love sweet potatoes but its time consuming cutting and cooking the damn things!!

Any suggestions?

Frozen ones probably take longer to cook.

I used to hate peeling butternut pumpkin, but recently seen Jamie Oliver roasting some and he kept the skin on. I tried this and its just as good, if not better. Nutrients are prob higher with skin on.

If you are really stuck for time, part cook them in the microwave. Say 1 min per 100g and then roast them to finish off.

rubadub

Mellor wrote: »

Frozen ones probably take longer to cook.

Most frozen chips/wedges are partially cooked in oil before freezing. This quickens cooking time and gets oil into them, most frozen wedges would be quicker to cook than raw ones. On tesco.ie it shows schwartz wedges coating -Easy to prepare in 5mins cook in 45mins

Tesco frozen wedges Time: 18 - 20 minutes

Even if it was in reverse by "time consuming cutting and cooking the damn things!" he probably means consuming his free time, rather than being annoyed at having to wait long for them to cook. Oven chips/wedges are convenient for many. -he did say don't shoot him!

I see sweet potatoes are being quite different. I wonder if people would be discussing them side by side in countries where they call sweet potatoes by a different name.

Dotcomdolly

rubadub wrote: »

I see sweet potatoes are being quite different. I wonder if people would be discussing them side by side in countries where they call sweet potatoes by a different name.

Are you thinking of yams? Because they are actually different than sweet potatoes....

I'd want to avoid the veg oil & other additives that were added to frozen versions...
If you cut them in to skinny "fries" they don't take very long to cook - lovely tossed with paprika before baking.

rubadub

Dotcomdolly wrote: »

Are you thinking of yams?

No, I read they were different before. I am thinking of different names used for sweet potatoes

In certain parts of the world, sweet potatoes are locally known as camote, kamote, goguma, man thet, ubi jalar, ubi keladi, shakarkand, satsuma imo, batata or el boniato.[5] In New Zealand English, the Māori term kūmara is commonly used.

ncmc

Mellor wrote: »

Frozen ones probably take longer to cook.

I used to hate peeling butternut pumpkin, but recently seen Jamie Oliver roasting some and he kept the skin on. I tried this and its just as good, if not better. Nutrients are prob higher with skin on.

If you are really stuck for time, part cook them in the microwave. Say 1 min per 100g and then roast them to finish off.

I hate, hate, hate peeling butternut squash, it’s actually one of the reasons I don’t cook it more often.

I normally only have sweet potato with a Sunday roast when I roast it with squash, carrots and parsnip. What other ways can it be cooked? What’s it like boiled and mashed like regular spuds?

Mellor

Dotcomdolly wrote: »

Are you thinking of yams? Because they are actually different than sweet potatoes....

When americans say "yams", for example at thanksgiving. They are talking about sweet potatoes. A yams is also a big african tuber type thing, but thats looks very different. You wouldn't mixed them up.

ncmc wrote: »

I hate, hate, hate peeling butternut squash, it’s actually one of the reasons I don’t cook it more often.

Next time don't peel it. Just slice it into chunks with the skin on and roast in olive oil.

mossym

ncmc wrote: »

I normally only have sweet potato with a Sunday roast when I roast it with squash, carrots and parsnip. What other ways can it be cooked?

peel, slice into wedge shaped pieces, little bit of olive oil into a tray, shake the wedges around, then shake jerk spice over them, roast in oven for 45 minutes, sweet potato wedges, really nice grub

El_Dangeroso

Mellor wrote: »

Butternut pumpkin soup and beetroot aside (fairly distinct tastes tbf), I find the food is Oz is pretty good. Much better variety than back in Ireland imo*. Basing this on sydney and melbourne, that both have a bit of a restaurant scene. Somewhere more remote you'll be given steak or schnitzel with mash or chips.

Really?? I lived in Melbourne, the supposed gastronomic capital and the food was woeful, some vegetables were lovely (avocados were particularly yum), but the meat was very strange tasting, especially pork. The beef is not a patch on Ireland and generally the supermarkets were even more focussed on processed food than they are here.

I think there's a good reason why they have a much worse obesity problem than us.

Chancer3001

sweet potatoes are delicious and as someone pointed out, they break down lower than normal potatoes.

rocky

Chancer3001 wrote: »

sweet potatoes are delicious and as someone pointed out, they break down lower than normal potatoes.

lower what?

calfmuscle

I do like both but even if the sweet potatoe is slightly higher nutritionally don't forget that it is higher in carbohydrate which means higher calorie content gram for gram.

Also I don't believe its much better from a gi point of view. Both are in and out of my blood stream in 2 hours. (Diabetic)

Chancer3001

slower*

sweet potatoes are low gi, regular potatoes are medium from what i remember

rocky

Maybe on a scale of useless things that are useless (gi), but as calfmuscle points out in reality it doesn't make a difference.

El_Dangeroso

GI becomes largely meaningless in mixed meals, and eating low GI doesn't actually seem to do much in the well controlled trials that have tested it.

Very few people eat a white potato with nothing else, but try it, you'll be stuffed before you finish a large one. Potatoes of all kinds score very high on satiety scales, especially if you eat them plain.