These sweet potato bites are packed with nutrients and perfect snacks for any day!
Ever since I started to work from home due to Covid-19, I’ve been struggling to control my weight gain. My activity level has declined but my trip to the refrigerator increased. I’ve been snacking donuts, brownies, cheesecakes, and pretty much anything sugary that I can get my hands on.
I tried to completely stop snacking but whenever I saw sweets, I gave in. So instead of quitting cold turkey, I decided to replace my snack with healthier options.
Sweet potato bites are healthy snacks
I looked around online to see what other people eat as healthy snacks, and I found these Japanese sweet potato bites like this. I know sweet potato has carbs, and they might scare some people away. But compared to other sugary desserts, this is so much better option. Did you know sweet potato has fewer carbs than plain white rice, [1] and also they are packed with essential nutrients?
Health Benefits of Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes are rich in fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Especially orange-fleshed sweet potatoes are one of the richest natural sources of beta-carotene, a plant-based compound that is converted to vitamin A in your body [2]
Special Ingredients
To keep the number of carbs to a minimum, I eliminated flour from this recipe and replaced it with vanilla-flavored whey protein powder, which helps to supplement daily protein needs.
I also replaced regular white sugar with erythritol. Erythritol is a low-calorie sweetener that provides 0 carbs and only about 6% of the calories found in an equal amount of sugar [3].
My sweet tooth was satisfied with the natural sweetness from the sweet potato and erythritol, but if you like the sweet potato bites even sweeter, you can add a few more tablespoons of erythritol. Erythritol is about 70% as sweet as regular sugar.
Summary
These sweet potato bites turned out to be great afternoon snacks. Eating one of these is only 48 calories, and I ate about three a day. Each bite was pretty filling so there was no need to eat so many.
If you like these sweet potato bites, you might also like:
Sweet Potato Bites
Equipment
- Potato Masher (Optional)
- Piping Bags
- Baking sheets
Ingredients
Sweet Potato Bites
- 1 pound sweet potato
- 1/4 cup Gold standard Whey protein powder – vanilla ice cream flavor any vanilla flavors will work
- 1 1/2 tablespoon erythritol add more if needed
- 1 egg
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 22 pecans
Instructions
- Pierce sweet potatoes 3 to 4 times with a fork. Place the potatoes on a microwave-safe plate and microwave for 10-15 minutes. If your potatoes aren't tender after 15 minutes, continue microwaving in 30-second increments.
- When potatoes are cooked through, scrape inside into a large bowl and discard skin. Using a potato masher or a fork, mash sweet potatoes until smooth. Add egg, whey protein powder, erythritol, vanilla extract and combine.
- Line baking sheets with parchment paper and preheat oven to 350F
- Put the sweet potato mixtures in the piping bag and pipe it in 1.5-inch diameter domes on the parchment paper.
- Bake them in the oven for 15 minutes, then garnish with pecans.
