Cottage cheese, yogurt, celery stalks…are you in a low-cal snack rut? Try raw sweet potato sticks! Yes, raw. Simply peel a sweet potato, which may be labeled as a “yam” at your market.
With a sharp knife, cut the peeled potato the long way into three sections. Lay those sections flat, and cut each into four or five sticks like French fries. You can keep the sticks fresh in ice water in the fridge (like you do with other raw veggie snacks). They can be easily mistaken for carrot sticks, but the slightly sweeter taste will be a pleasant surprise.
Sweet potatoes are rich in fiber, folate, vitamin A and vitamin C, and they are completely fat-free. One whole potato has about 100 to 140 calories. If you think eating a bit of raw “potato” will upset your stomach, note that sweet potatoes are a distant relative of the white potato (actually akin to the morning glory), but considered to be a root vegetable. It’s similar to digesting a raw carrot.
More great snacking ideas…
