Getting from breakfast to lunch and then dinner without anything else in between can be a challenge, especially since most of us are staying at home during this pandemic and can get bored easily. We can, however, fill the gap between main meals with snacks. While snacking has been named as ‘bad’, it can actually be an important part of your diet if done correctly.
Snacking provides energy in the middle of the day. It helps to decrease your hunger and may also keep you from overeating at mealtime. A well-timed snack helps to even out hunger spikes and keep children from getting hungry.
There are many snacks to choose from, but try to limit the unhealthy snacks you bring into the house. The simple rule is, if you don’t bring them into the house, you are most likely to make a healthier choice for snacks.
I love making our own snacks as those store bought ones can be high in sugar, salt and sodium. When we make our own snacks, we can control what goes into it.
Sweet potato is one of my favourite mediums for snacks as they are a great source of fiber, vitamins, and minerals. They are also rich in antioxidants that protect your body from free radicals.
Sweet potatoes are very versatile. I’ve shared a couple of sweet potato recipes – Sweet Potato Mantou and Steamed Sweet Potato Cake.
Today, I’m going to share another sweet potato recipe. This is my boys’ favourite snack – Fluffy Sweet Potato Crackers aka Keropok.
It is actually very easy to make sweet potato crackers from scratch. The only thing is it takes time to sun dry them but we are blessed with lots of sunshine throughout the year so it is actually an advantage for us.
Homemade Sweet Potato Crackers
Equipment
- Pressure Cooker
- Wok
Ingredients
- 150 g sweet potato
- 150 g tapioca starch
- 100 ml water
- 1 tsp chicken stock powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp oil
- 1 dash pepper
Instructions
- Remove the skin of sweet potatoes.
- Cut sweet potatoes into cubes.
- Prepare a steamer.
- Steam the sweet potatoes until soft.
- Weigh about 150g steamed sweet potatoes.
- Mash the sweet potatoes while it is still warm.
- Add salt, sugar, pepper, chicken stock powder and oil.
- Mix thoroughly.
- Add tapioca starch.
- Add water.
- Roll into a log.
- Wrap with cling film.
- Refrigerate for an hour.
- Boil in slightly salted water for 20 minutes.
- Once cooked, remove from boiling water and cool completely.
- Store in an airtight container and refrigerate overnight.
- Next day, slice thinly about 2mm in thickness.
- Sun dry until each piece is harden.
- It is ready when it turns translucent.
- Fry in hot oil.
- Store in an airtight container and serve in small servings.
Video
Other Tips to Keep in Mind
Store snacks in small containers to ensure your child eats the right size portion.
If your family loves snacking while watching television, put a portion of this snack in a bowl for each person as it is easy to accidentally overeat when done straight from the tub.
Give this simple Homemade Fluffy Sweet Potato Crackers recipe a try today!
Read more interesting stories and fun recipes on Motherhood.com.my!