Sweet Potato Fries In Air Fryer

Sweet Potato Fries With Protein For Better Blood Sugar Control. Low-sodium, low-fat, carb-controlled, heart healthy.

Today is February 2nd, 2022 (2/22/22). It’s a pretty special day.

February 22nd is also “cook a sweet potato day.” This is why I want to share this recipe with you.

Half one cup of already cooked sweet potatoes (100 grams) has 90 calories, 21 grams total carbohydrates, and 3 grams fiber. The net carbs (absorbed by the body) are 18 grams (21 total grams of carbs minus 3 grams of fiber).

Sweet potatoes are an excellent source of antioxidant vitamin A in beta-carotene form, a great source of vitamins B6 and C, manganese, and potassium, and a good source of fiber, as mentioned above. Keep the skin on when cooking it to benefit from the fiber.

Unpeeled sweet potato is lower on the glycemic index, peeled sweet potato has at a medium level of glycemic index. The glycemic index is how much a food raises one’s blood sugar two hours after its consumption. The higher the number, the more sugar will be present in a person’s blood after consumption. Therefore, unpeeled sweet potato, even after cooking, will maintain blood sugars steadier after a meal, help regulate hormones better, help regulate one’s weight better, and also help with glycemic control if one has diabetes.

I recently bought an air-fryer, and I love French fries on the air-fryer, because the amount of saturated fat in air fried foods is significantly lower than in deep fried foods. Because sweet potatoes have a lower glycemic index, it’s a great food to have if you want to control both amounts of fat and sugar in your daily meals.

Air frying sweet potatoes will save you around 40-50 calories per 100 grams portion (about ¾ cup), 6-7 grams total fat, and 2-3 grams saturated fat. Therefore, the air-fried version is much leaner, and healthier for your cardiovascular system.

Recipe:

Wash sweet potatoes thoroughly; use a vegetable brush to remove debris, if necessary. Dry the sweet potatoes with a paper towel.

Cut the sweet potato in half, and then in half-inch sticks. Don’t remove the skin.

In a separate bowl, mix 2 tablespoons of cooking olive oil, salt, and pepper to taste. You may add paprika and garlic powder to taste, if wanted. You can add other salt-free seasonings, and make it to better suit a low sodium diet, making it a heart-healthy diet item. 

Add sweet potatoes with the oil and seasonings in a larger bowl.

Spread the sweet potato sticks on even layers on the trays of the air fryer or spread them on the basket of the air fryer, in a single layer.

Air fry the sweet potatoes at 400° Fahrenheit (205° Celsius), for 14-15 minutes. Add more pepper or salt to taste.

Note: my air fryer has an option for fries, at 400 °F, 18 minutes, but they are slightly burned at 18 minutes. I’ve prepared them at 14-15 minutes, and they came out more evenly cooked.

One hundred grams (about 12 sweet potato fries, as instructed above), will yield about 150 calories, 3 grams of total fat, 1 gram saturated fat, 25 grams of carbohydrate, 3 grams of fiber (22 grams net carbs).

If you have diabetes, pairing this 1.5 carb with at least 20 grams of protein, you can still add one carb to this meal and experience good blood sugar control after 1-2 hours of your meal.

Send me a message at girlene@braziliandietitian.com, to tell me how you like this recipe!

To Your Health,

Girlene