Sack the spuds and try their distant cousin instead
The sweet potato is a tuberous root vegetable belonging to the same family of plants as the morning glory. Nutritionally, sweet potatoes are an excellent source of vitamin A and a good source of potassium and vitamin C, B6, riboflavin, copper, pantothetic acid and folic acid.
Eating more sweet potatoes will give you a diet that is high in fibre, rich in complex carbohydrates and low in fat.
The sweet potato is only distantly related to the potato.
The young leaves and shoots are sometimes eaten as greens.
The edible tuberous root is long and tapered, with a smooth skin whose colour ranges between red, purple, brown and white.
It is native to the tropical areas of South America. Remains of sweet potatoes have been found there dating back to 8,000 BC.
There was a shortage of wheat flour during the first world war, so sweet potato flour was added to baked goods to stretch the wheat flour.