Most of us associate sweet potatoes with the holidays, but these vitamin-packed root vegetables are a nutritious, versatile food any time of the year. Sure, they’re great baked, boiled or sautéed. But there’s no need to limit them to entrées. Their natural sweetness makes them a perfect filling for everything from pies to muffins.

You may be surprised to learn that sweet potatoes aren’t really potatoes at all; they’re actually members of the morning glory family. They’re also not the same as yams, which come from a different plant species and don’t contain the nutritional punch that sweet potatoes pack.

Sweet potatoes are an excellent source of vitamin A, in the form of beta carotene. Vitamin A helps protect vision, the immune system and our skin and bones. In addition, sweet potatoes are rich in vitamin C, which helps protect the body from toxins that damage cells and cause disease.

Sweet potato skins and flesh may be light yellow to bright orange to dusty red. Lighter-skinned varieties tend to be drier and less sweet than dark ones, and can be substituted for white potatoes in many recipes.

Choose sweet potatoes that have smooth skins with no blemishes. Store them in a cool, dark and dry place (but not the refrigerator). Use them within a week of purchase.

There are so many ways to prepare sweet potatoes that you could cook them morning, noon and night. Here are just a few ideas to get you started:

• Muffins mashed sweet potatoes, apples and walnuts
• Baked sweet potatoes topped with cinnamon sugar, hummus or sautéed vegetables
• Pies replace mashed pumpkin with mashed sweet potatoes
• Soup puréed sweet potatoes, chicken broth, yogurt and nutmeg
• Fluffy casserole whipped sweet potatoes topped with marshmallows
• Spicy, fruity cake mashed sweet potatoes with spices, raisins and pecans
• Grilled kebabs white and sweet potatoes, and red and green bell peppers seasoned with parsley, cayenne pepper, salt, pepper and olive oil
• Pudding blend together grated, raw sweet potatoes, milk, sugar, eggs, cinnamon and melted margarine and bake

So many ways to prepare sweet potatoes, so little time. But there’s no time like the present to get started!