Sweet potatoes are a tasty treat that can be good for you too. They are often consumed in the United States during holidays such as Thanksgiving of Christmas (often called yams, but be careful with not adding too many unhealthy things like too much sugar and marshmallows that might make the healthy sweet potatoes an unhealthy meal), but they can be eaten any time and in a variety of ways and cooking styles. Some people like to boil them or grill them or bake them and eat them without other additions which is pretty healthy and actually tastes pretty good too. You can cook them in the oven by wrapping them in aluminum foil and baking them. Sweet potatoes are generally available all year long, so you can eat them any time usually. Just check at your supermarket for sweet potatoes and you should be able to find them.
One of the benefits of sweet potatoes is that they contain carotenoids which can help reduce insulin resistance and keep blood sugar levels in check. Because of sweet potatoes’ low glycemic index even diabetics can eat them. This is in contrast to regular potatoes and foods such as rice which have a high glycemic index and diabetics usually have to avoid. This can help wiht metabolism as well as just the blood sugar. Since sweet potatoes are a type of potato, they too are pretty filling. Other health benefits include a great source of fiber, fat-free calories, and a lot of beta carotene (on par with carrots). This makes them great at countering heart disease or cancer. These potatoes also have potassium and vitamin C along with some other vitamins. All of the vitamins and nutrients and intrinsic properties of sweet potatoes generally make it a healthy snack, but too much of anything can be bad. Also, make sure you are consuming the potatoes in a healthy way as sweet potatoes (and regular potatoes for that matter) are often adorned with a lot of things that make them unhealthy such as sugar, marshmallows, etc.
So what are you waiting for? Get the health benefits of sweet potatoes and try them out. You can even eat them in summer- they cook great on the grill when you are grilling or you can also boil them. Eat them with the skin if possible as the skin has a lot of nutrients (which is typically the case with many fruits and vegetables). This is an especially viable option with organically grown sweet potatoes. Some people like to grow sweet potatoes as they are not awfully hard to grow and can be grown in many backyards in the ground. They are naturally sweet which is amazing and you can always add toppings (but be careful with adding too many unhealthy toppings as that can make the healthy food into a poor meal health wise). For those with kidney problems there might be some things in sweet potatoes that might not be good especially with too much consumption such as oxalates and those people should consult their primary doctors to see what they suggest as they are really the expert. Another sweet and tasty but also healthy treat is strawberries.