Blue Zone Hawaiian (Okinawa) Sweet Potatoes

Okinawan sweet potatoes — also called beni imo. Beige skin, deep purple flesh, and they got their blue zone link because Okinawa is one of the original longevity hotspots.

For decades the islanders got roughly sixty percent of their calories from them, and the purple comes from anthocyanins, the same antioxidants in blueberries.

They’re milder than orange sweet potatoes, with a honey-like taste, and they cook up creamy rather than dry.

Simplest way is how Okinawans eat them: steam whole or in chunks for fifteen to twenty minutes until fork-tender, then salt them. Baking whole at two hundred degrees Celsius for about an hour works too and concentrates the sweetness. You can mash them with coconut milk, or roast wedges low and slow.