Potato Misconceptions?

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stephstrege
stephstrege Posts: 62 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi All,

I am new at this (day 7!!) and I am looking for more complex carb ideas. I am hearing so many things that potato's really are not that bad for you, if cooked the right way and eaten in moderation (like so many things). So am I on the right track with this? Any other ideas?

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  • EHuntRN
    EHuntRN Posts: 320 Member
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    I think potaotes are a great idea, no fat when boiled and a good carb!!! I eat them 2-3 times a week usually boiled, but I did have them last night mashed with fat free carnation evaporated milk...
  • kaymd
    kaymd Posts: 470 Member
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    I love potatoes!! I'm also eating whole grain or whole wheat pasta. I also love brown rice once in a while.
  • vickigee
    vickigee Posts: 36
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    I eat carbs but watch the amount. I also use spray butter instead of the real stuff. But when eating bread I have switched to the 100% whole wheat and just recently started making my own. If you look at bread you can find some where you can have two slices instead of one over just 1 slice in another brand.
    Look for the ones with more fiber too.
    We eat lots of squash you can bake in the oven and have learned to eat with none of the sugars they are sweet enough.
  • meggonkgonk
    meggonkgonk Posts: 2,066 Member
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    I love potatoes too!! They are a great source of nutrients (like potassium). I prefer red bliss potatoes, and I know tons of people swear by sweet potatoes (I find they don't keep very well over the week). Definitely don't shy away from them! (I like oil and vinegar potato salad, or drizzle a tsp of olive oil and bake your own french fries!)
  • promiseskept
    promiseskept Posts: 119
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    True, but you have to know it IS a carb and it is a starch and it breaks down in sugars so it is to be consumed in moderation. (and as fries or potato chips, they are out outrageously useless...lol)
    I have found personally that I eat less of them now. When I do, I often find that I used to eat too large of a portion and that butter and or gravy is a habit that socks your fat intake.
    I love them cut is small portions, tossed with spices and lightly sprayed with olive oil and baked in the oven.
    Potatoes are not our enemy, it is what we do with them and how we consume them that is !
  • ajbeans
    ajbeans Posts: 2,857 Member
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    Leave the skin on when you cook them. Without the skin there's not as much nutrition, but that skin has a TON of nutrients. Eat the skin. :)
  • vickigee
    vickigee Posts: 36
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    We use the brown rice all the time I uses some flavored olive oils in the rice cooker with the premium brown rice and then when it's all done add some of the Sam's Member Mark Chicken into it makes a very healthy meal and if your steamer has the added shelf like our you put your other veggies on top and your meal is complete.
  • ChessRonin
    ChessRonin Posts: 160 Member
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    One potato has almost 300 calories. With NOTHING added to it, 300 calories. The problem with a potato is that people eat a whole one, thinking that it's healthy (which it is) but not realizing how many calories they just ate.

    If you want a potato, cut it up. Otherwise, it's probably the only thing you'll be eating for that meal.
  • nerdyandilikeit
    nerdyandilikeit Posts: 2,185 Member
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    i love sweet potatoes! i get the plastic wrapped ones that are ready for the microwave, mostly because they stay better. and i top them with a bit of greek yogurt instead of sour cream! I don't really like them with brown sugar or anything like that, they're sweet enough on their own.
  • fitnesspirateninja
    fitnesspirateninja Posts: 667 Member
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    One potato has almost 300 calories. With NOTHING added to it, 300 calories. The problem with a potato is that people eat a whole one, thinking that it's healthy (which it is) but not realizing how many calories they just ate.

    If you want a potato, cut it up. Otherwise, it's probably the only thing you'll be eating for that meal.

    Or don't eat a big *kitten* russet potato. I like blue or red potatoes, which are smaller and, in my opinion, tastier.
  • Amaris1973
    Amaris1973 Posts: 45 Member
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    300 calories? That is one mega potato. 4oz of potato (113grams) is 125 calories.
  • stephstrege
    stephstrege Posts: 62 Member
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    Thanks for all your help everyone!! I feel like I am getting a better grasp of what I need to do.

    Diet:
    -More protein
    -Less fat
    -Less sugar
    -More complex carbs
    -Don't underdo my calories

    Exercise:
    -More Cardio

    What would I do with out MFP!?!? :happy:
  • taletreader
    taletreader Posts: 377 Member
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    One potato has almost 300 calories. With NOTHING added to it, 300 calories. The problem with a potato is that people eat a whole one, thinking that it's healthy (which it is) but not realizing how many calories they just ate.

    If you want a potato, cut it up. Otherwise, it's probably the only thing you'll be eating for that meal.

    Well, they DO come in different sizes. I cook small red potatoes a lot -- we eat them for dinner with either fish or a chicken sausage -- and our usual portion size is three "large" ones, or two mid-sized and 2 small ones, which comes out to 5 oz and about 105 cal. My partner puts a nice slab of butter on them, but I don't.
  • Wakx
    Wakx Posts: 105 Member
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    That 300 kCal potato would indeed be quite huge. A regularly sized potato is half that amount of calories. But then again, I'd eat two of those ;)

    Potatoes are healthiest when boiled and unpeeled or mashed without too much butter and milk. Fried in a Teflon pan, the calorie count isn't as disastrous as perceived.

    For me, potatoes represent healthy "clean" food. The day they'd make me fat is the day I start doing the things that made me a fat *kitten* before. And that wasn't eating potatoes.

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