Calories = calories?

Same number of carbohydrate-derived calories. One is a real food (about 3.5 oz sweet potato);
the other comes in a packet. Are they the same?

So, I'm experimenting with consuming less refined sugars and more whole, real foods.
A fancy packet of Hammer Gel for my morning bike ride is the same amount of calories as half of a small, steamed sweet potato. (About 90.) The sweet potato has fiber, and vitamins and phytochemicals and other good stuff.  The Hammer Gel has some electrolytes and sodium added.

(The coffee with half & half would be equally consumed along with either.)

My bike ride this morning (about 1hr 15 minutes, including stretching by the Pacific Ocean) wasn't as amped up as it has been on these supercharged energy gels -- but that could also be due to other factors, like less sleep, and a high-intensity weight training workout that left me sore, just the day before.

More testing is needed before I can definitively confirm whether or not Hammer Gel calories is the same as a piece of tuber.

I'd be curious as to know what other people have found.

Relearning Sweet Desserts

Figs, broiled, with a dollop of plain yogurt

I'm a big believer in dessert. I love it.
I also believe tastes can change. Desserts don't have to be calorie bombs.

Craving something sweet this evening, I made broiled figs with yogurt for dessert.
It's easy to fall in love with desserts this simple and good.

Four figs, a sprinkling of sugar to caramelize under the broiler, a dollop of Fage 0% Greek yogurt.
111 calories, 3g fiber, 19g carbs, 5g protein, 0g fat. 
2 minutes.