Nutritionally speaking, sweet potatoes are good for us. They're rich in vitamins B6 and C, and are loaded with beta carotene. But they're not on everyone's "best of" list, even though crispy sweet-potato "tots" are a hit item on food trucks.
How to get those truck "tots" to the family dinner table, where maybe the young ones will find them fun to eat? One way is with a new product, Sweet Potato Puffs from Alexia Foods. A 20-ounce bag goes for $3.49 at most area supermarkets.
Bonus: Celebrity chef Tyler Florence (who lives in Mill Valley in Marin County) offers recipes using the puffs, at www.alexiafoods.com.
We asked four moms to serve the puffs as part of their family meals. Their reports:
"I loved them, they're so much more flavorful than regular Tater Tots. This is the first time (my two children) have eaten sweet-potato anything. They repeatedly refuse to eat the sweet-potato fries I put in front of them, (but) loved the tots. The slightly toasted topping is hard to resist. I'll be making these again."
"Our family loves Tater Tots, but nobody can handle the cloying sweetness and gooey texture of sweet potatoes. You don't get that with these puffs. After one taste, the Sweet Potato Puffs quickly disappeared, with my husband and daughter (who is 7) asking for more."
"Usually, sweet potatoes are too sweet, but these crunchy tots were just right. They went well with a grilled pork loin."
"Sweet potatoes? Yuck! But my family of five took that (sentiment) back when we tasted the puffs. We needed two bags instead of one. Only the 3-year-old refused to get with the program. She made such a face when she tasted them that we reached for the camera."
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