It’s time to stop alienating the lowly white potato. Ever since the carb craze, the white potato has been ostracized. How could we do this to our favorite tuber? Now, we can only eat potatoes of color? Seems like reverse discrimination to me.
We can do sooooo much with a potato, from pancakes to souffles to bread.
We can make art with potatoes…..
We can use potatoes for a medium……Anyone else do this in kindergarden?
But what about those carbs? Will potatoes make me fat? It is true that the carbohydrate in potato is primarily starch. Starch is also usually turned quickly into glucose and absorbed by the small intestine. However, the potato also contains what is called resistant starch. Resistant starch acts as a dietary fiber because it passes into the large intestine undigested. This helps with many wonderful things like increasing satiety, protecting against weight gain and obesity, and helping to maintain a healthy colon.
With 45% of the daily value of vitamin C and just as much potassium as the average banana, the potato is a nutrient dense food. Potatoes also provide thiamin, niacin, B6, folate, pantothenic acid, copper, and magnesium. Don’t stress over whether you eat the skin or not, the nutrients are both in the skin and flesh. Keeping the skin on while boling or baking can help retain more vitamins for consumption.
The trick is to use the potato in ways other than fried. The potato is naturally low in fat, but frying not only kills off many of the nutirient content but, duh, adds fat. Got some leftover garlic broccoli from your favorite Chinese restaurant? Use it as a topping over a baked potato. A pea lover? Boil a potato, dice, mix in a bowl with peas and some olive oil and vinagar, and salt and pepper. A great snack. Keep some boiled potatoes in the fridge and use on a green salad. They soak up the dressing and add a new texture. Potatoes are so flexible, let your imagination find your favorite combination.
What’s the point? Remember that potatoes have a use beyond french fries and potato chips. Reconsider the potato once again as part of your healthy diet. Inexpensive and full of healthful nutrients, the potato deserves a place once again at our table.
Eat well. Live well.
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