Potatoes..

Rugbychick16

So it's time once again for my favorite thing - little baby potatoes. I love them, and I had them for lunch with some steamed broccoli with a little light Italian dressing. My question is...are potatoes along the lines of a bad food?

BrendaLee

I love little baby potatoes, and they come in a bunch of colors which makes them more fun. lol They're good for you. They're a good source of vitamins and fibre. They're also high in carbs, so someone on a low carb diet would probably avoid them.

Eat them with the skins on and look for organic versions because non-organic potatoes tend to have high levels of pesticides.

Katy009

I love baked potatoes, but it's true potatoes are high in carbs. I usually only eat one once in a while (may one every two weeks) and I do try to have it for lunch rather than dinner since you have a better chance of using up those carbs afterward.

If you like them and don't eat them all the time, I wouldn't eliminate them from your diet.

CasperO

Potatoes are great, and a nice big serving is pretty reasonable on the cal count. Your body needs gas, and they're definitely gas.

But - The butter you put on them is 100% fat, the sour cream isn't much better, and the salt is pure sodium (chloride). I eat my taters with a little butter, a little salt and a lot of black pepper.

Taters are good, but they have bad friends,,, watch the friends. :laugh:

Valtishia

I think potatoes are great!!! I eat them especially on a day with high exercise to get a load of carbs but without all the sodium. My spices are all sodium free so I pan fry potatoes with those... very yummy!!!!

BrenNew

Potatoes are great, and a nice big serving is pretty reasonable on the cal count. Your body needs gas, and they're definitely gas.

But - The butter you put on them is 100% fat, the sour cream isn't much better, and the salt is pure sodium (chloride). I eat my taters with a little butter, a little salt and a lot of black pepper.

Taters are good, but they have bad friends,,, watch the friends. :laugh:

:laugh: I LOVE the "bad friends" remark! Sooo true! That's why I use "I Can't Believe it's Not Butter" spray. It's really good! I even spray it on my corn on the cob!

SHBoss1673

Don't fall into the "potatoes are high in carbs" trap. They DO have lots of carbs, but not as many as you'd think, and they are good carbs. A medium baked potato with skin (about 6 oz) has about 160 calories, it has about 35 g of carbs, which is a lot for someone on a low carb diet, but not that high if you make it your meal carb (you SHOULD have about 40 to 60 carbs during your 3 main meals), and they are very good carbs, the carbs in potatoes are complex. Also potato skin has TONS of vitamins and minerals.

Potatoes also contain high amounts of the following nutrients:

4 g of dietary fiber
25 - 30 g of calcium
almost a GRAM (1000 mg) of potassium (awesome!)
425 mg of sodium (that's a little high, but not horrible, compared to those frozen dinners)

and the following vitamins and minerals as well (these are averages):
Vitamin C 45%
Thiamin 10%
Niacin 8%
Vitamin B6 14%
Folacin 14%
Panthothenic Acid 6%
Phosphorous 6%
Magnesium 12%
Iron 9%

so you can see why the Irish depended so hugely on potatoes during the lean times, they are an excellent source of sustenance, and relatively easy to grow.

ONE note: a lot of this stuff is in the SKIN, so make sure you eat the skin (wash it throroughly first!)

carrieberrie

Eating cooked and cooled potatoes, like in salads are great it is a resistant starch. Because resistant starch is not digested in the small intestine, blood glucose levels rise at a slower rate, making
it ideal for people with diabetes. This slower, more controlled glycaemic response also helps suppress hunger and keep energy levels up throughout the day.
Resistant starch may also be of benefit to healthy individuals who are trying to achieve and maintain a
healthy body weight. Due to its indigestible nature, resistant starch provides less (calories) than digestible starch and should be included as part of a healthy balanced diet

WINEYINVA

I love sweet potatoes, I think they are a little healthier than the white types. I bake them and cut them open and sprinkly cinnamon on them yummmmmm!!!!!

Cindysunshine

I love baked potaoes. I have 1 a week. I weigh it before i eat it and never eat more than 7 ounces. I also use light sour cream -2TBS. I read that sweet potatoes and regular potatoes are equally nutritous they just have differant nutrition. I love sweet potatoes too. I bought a bag of red potatoes and cant wait to bake some up. Cindy

Rugbychick16

I like to eat them just plain. no salt, no butter. mmmmm. I do use the dressing when I pair it with a veggie, which is usually my lunch.

ivykivy

Potatoes are great. I use real butter in mine to have a nice balance (fats and protein slow down digestion alleviate blood sugar spikes). But I'm one of those crazy people that eats one food at a time. As mentioned before they have a lot of potassium (which cancels out the sodium by 2.5) and iron (which is good for me b/c I am iron deficient). I usually boil mine then mash and add butter maybe a sprinkle of salt if any.

yellowhouse

For dinner tonight I made a really good potato salad

4-6 baby yukon gold potatoes (about 6 oz) oven roasted, cooled and cut in half
1 stalk celery chopped
1 chopped dill pickle
1/4 red pepper chopped
a little chopped onion
1 chopped carrot
1 tbl dijon mustard
2 tbl fat free sour cream
a little salt and pepper

It was fantastic

gemiwing

I absolutely adore potatoes. We're strapped for cash right now so potatoes have been a life-saver for us.

They're so versatile and yummy. Tons of fuel in a small package too.

I love them with salsa! I make a killer skin-on mashed potato too.

Get Yokon Golds for the best mashed taters ever. Throw in saute'd garlic, soy milk, and salsa - sooo yummy.

*sigh* I love you potato!

arewethereyet

So it's time once again for my favorite thing - little baby potatoes. I love them, and I had them for lunch with some steamed broccoli with a little light Italian dressing. My question is...are potatoes along the lines of a bad food?

not if you Irish! I couldnt live without my taters and lost 32 pounds so far!! I think it is all about portion control! I try not to eat simple carbs after 5 pm, too.

arewethereyet

Potatoes are great. I use real butter in mine to have a nice balance (fats and protein slow down digestion alleviate blood sugar spikes). But I'm one of those crazy people that eats one food at a time. As mentioned before they have a lot of potassium (which cancels out the sodium by 2.5) and iron (which is good for me b/c I am iron deficient). I usually boil mine then mash and add butter maybe a sprinkle of salt if any.

Oh Ivy..........I just love you

Now I can continue to have my 1/2 tbls of butter on my taters w/o a long guilt trip to follow!!

fitgal411

I think that potatoes are very filling, and maybe one could be a main dish instead of a side. And some potatoes may not be healthy, like the bacon and cheese potato skins . . .:noway: