The Truth about Taters

Ready for a fun fact? The average American eats 126 pounds of potatoes a year.

Yeah, that’s probably more than some of you weigh.

French fries, potato chips, tater tots, baked potatoes, garlic mashed potatoes, roasted potatoes, hash browns, scalloped potatoes… Ugh. Why are potatoes so damn delicious?

But I come bearing some wonderful news about those taters.

Potatoes are NOT unhealthy for you. Actually, they are a great source of Vitamin C, B6, copper, potassium, tryptophan, fiber, and phytonutrients (antioxidants) that protect your hot bod from free radicals! And your average medium sized baked potato only has 160-ish calories (and a small one-only 130 cals).

But what MAKES them unhealthy is two fold.
1) the way they are prepared (frying, adding cream, butter, cheese, mayo, bacon bits…)
2) we strip off or avoid the most nutrient rich part: the SKIN!

The skin is where it’s at, dudes. We’re talking the fiber and all the above mentioned nutrients. Just make sure to clean them well.

Here’s an idea for healthy-ing up that baked potato: Mix together low-fat cottage cheese, beans (whatever kind you prefer) and chopped chives. Scoop out a little of the fleshy part and spoon in your yummy stuffing. There you have a great mini-meal!

This is more of a side dish, but it never, ever disappoints. Try roasting yukon gold or fingerling potatoes– spritz with extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), then add rosemary, garlic, salt and pepper.

Here’s a new one: Potato skin pizzas. Scoop out the inside of a baked potato. Add a couple of table spoons of tomato sauce and sprinkle with low-fat mozzarella and maybe even lightly saute some mushrooms, peppers and onions. Yes please.

Or you could go with the always faithful garlic mashed– try it with red potatoes, keeping the skin in there. Throw in garlic, skim milk and maybe even a touch of half and half. Finish off with paprika and parsley, and then even more garlic (a Poppa Brown tip) for some color and flavor.

Let me know of any other delish healthy potato recipes you’ve come up with. Next time: sweet potatoes!! Perfect for fall.