By Alba Galvan
As someone who’s been trying to reach their fitness and food goals in 2026, I have been doom-scrolling TikTok trying to find healthy snacks that don’t hurt my pockets as a broke college student — that’s why sweet potatoes are a delicious, inexpensive snack.
These two sweet potato recipes can be stored in the fridge for up to three days. What I really like about these is how easy they are to customize by adding more toppings or eating them as a meal instead of a snack.
Here are two easy, yummy ways to prepare sweet potatoes.
Roasted caramelized sweet potato
When I first tried this sweet potato recipe, I was in heaven — and it wasn’t because of the cannabis I consumed beforehand, it was because of how easy it was to make. I am usually more of a savory or spicy person, but this sweet potato was to die for. It also pairs wonderfully with other foods and doesn’t have to just be a snack.
Sweet potato has a sugar called maltose that is released when heated up, causing it to caramelize and have an interesting texture.
Ingredients:
1 large sweet potato
1 to 2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Step 1:
Preheat the oven to 370 degrees
Step 2:
Rinse the sweet potato until clean, dry it, and cut in half lengthwise.
Step 3:
Coat the cut sides with olive oil, salt and pepper. Then, in an oven-safe pan, place the sweet potato cut side down and place in the oven for 50 minutes.
Step 4:
Once the sweet potatoes are done, let them cool down so the cut side can finish caramelizing.
Step 5:
Enjoy!
Cheesy Caramelized sweet potato
Additional ingredients:
Cheese of choice, recommendations: Sharp Cheddar, Gruyere, Pepper Jack, Goat Cheese, Feta Cheese, or Butterkäse.
Optional: hot honey, chilli flakes
Step 1
Follow steps 1-4 above.
Step 2
On the cut side of the sweet potato, add cheese to your preference.
Step 3
Add to the oven for 3-5 minutes until melted.
Step 4
Enjoy!
Alba is a journalism major and reporter for The LumberJack and El Lenador. She’s very passionate about sharing and listening to different opinions and loves self-expression. Contact her at: agg83@humboldt.edu