This or that.
Look.
These past few days in California, we’ve been talking a lot with Coach Víctor, who, as usual, asks me plenty of questions about nutrition.
And one of the topics that came up was this:
What is better for a soccer player?
Potato or sweet potato?
And why?
The answer that gets fewer likes, but is actually more useful, is this:
There is no need to turn it into another stupid food war.
Because potatoes and sweet potatoes are not the same.
And that is exactly why both can have a place in a player’s diet.
Potatoes have several very clear advantages.
They are usually more neutral in flavor, more versatile, and easier to include in different meals without getting tired of them three days later.
They also provide a good amount of potassium and, when prepared properly, they can be a very useful source of carbs for performance, recovery, and steady energy without making your life more complicated than it needs to be.
Sweet potatoes, on the other hand, have a different profile.
They are usually sweeter, a bit more filling for some people, and stand out especially for their beta-carotene content, which the body can convert into vitamin A.
That does not make them a magical food.
But it does make them a very interesting option.
Put simply:
Regular potatoes usually stand out more for practicality and versatility.
Sweet potatoes usually stand out more for flavor, fiber, and that extra micronutrient boost.
So this is not about picking a winner.
It is about understanding what makes each one special and using them intelligently depending on the situation.
And since we are talking about sweet potatoes, here is today’s recipe:
BROKEN EGGS WITH SWEET POTATO
Servings: 1
Time: 25 minutes
Ingredients:
14 oz peeled sweet potato
3 eggs
1.4 oz Iberian ham
1/4 cup arugula
1 tablespoon chopped chives
1/2 teaspoon herbes de Provence
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Salt
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
Homemade pesto
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 400°F with convection if available.
Cut the sweet potato into very thin matchsticks, less than 1/2 inch thick. The thinner they are, the crispier they will get.
Coat the sweet potato with the herbes de Provence, black pepper, a little salt, and the extra virgin olive oil.
Spread the sweet potato over parchment paper and bake for about 20 minutes, until lightly browned.
While the sweet potato is baking, cook the eggs on a skillet.
To plate, place a little arugula on the bottom, add the sweet potato, then the eggs, then the ham, and finish with the chopped chives and a little homemade pesto.
Variations:
You can swap the sweet potato for regular potatoes, pumpkin, cassava, or a mix of your favorites.
Do not turn nutrition into a tribal war.
Understand food better.
And use it to your advantage.
¡Vamos!
— Coach AL