Potato/Potahto?
KombuchaCat
Posts: 834 Member
Short overview of where I'm coming from...I've been doing the WAPF thing for a while and recently began to dabble in the Primal/Paleo world eliminating grains and legumes. I've had some slip ups but in the end I am feeling much better doing this so I'm sold on the value of eating this way. I appologize if you guys have answered the potato question before...but what is your opinion on including them or not, at least in moderation? I know that both Primal and Paleo shun them and I get that from a weightloss/carb/glucose perspective they should be. I understand some people have problems digesting them so certainly if that's you then get rid of them. Personally I have no issues with digesting potatoes. I'm totally on board with cutting way down but what do you guys think of the odd potato here and there. FYI, another reason for my asking is I'm currently flush with organic potatoes from my CSA box and want to use them up...
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Organic only. Conventional potatoes rate very high in pesticides. Personally, they are no good for me. A trigger food, and a nightshade, which bothers my joints. I'd rather eat peppers and tomatoes for my nightshade allotment.
However, for people who don't binge on them, don't have health problems from them (keeping in mind that high carb/starch can inhibit weight loss and other issues) , and get ones that aren't loaded with pesticides or processed into junk (commercial potato chips, fries), well then I don't see the problem. To each their own.0 -
Good point, I wasn't really thinking of the addictive food angle...I did break myself of an obnoxious french fry habit after learning about the toxic polysaturated oils they use on them. I will proceed with caution!0
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Fries and chips are my BIGGEST downfall and always will be. I LOVE them... far more than sweet stuff and wheat. I've been indulging in them when on holidays and then completely derailing (alcohol is a big factor in that too) so I really have to rethink whether I can ever let myself indulge in them again. In hindsight it never seems worth it.
(I noticed that some of the fries that I encountered in the US were coated with something and based on the results they had on my health, I'd bet it was wheat! Crazy.)0 -
Akimajuktuq wrote: »Fries and chips are my BIGGEST downfall and always will be. I LOVE them... far more than sweet stuff and wheat. I've been indulging in them when on holidays and then completely derailing (alcohol is a big factor in that too) so I really have to rethink whether I can ever let myself indulge in them again. In hindsight it never seems worth it.
(I noticed that some of the fries that I encountered in the US were coated with something and based on the results they had on my health, I'd bet it was wheat! Crazy.)
A lot of restaurants don't have separate fryers for different things, so even if it's not breaded specifically, there is a lot of cross contamination on that front. I've never seen fries specifically breaded that I know of, though. That's a new one.0 -
Yeah, some sweet potato fries I've had have been dusted with flour before frying, I'm not sure why. I know the "Jo-Jos" at the local deli are flour-dusted before frying, as well. I used to get those for my kids; the store would let you get stuff at the deli and actually eat it (or let your kids eat it) while shopping, and then pay according to the price label from the deli.0
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Some chains (like McD) put a rice flour/cornstarch coating on their fries so that they stay crisp under the heat lamps. Just another way to fool the chumps into thinking stale food is fresh.Dragonwolf wrote: »I've never seen fries specifically breaded that I know of, though. That's a new one.
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I never knew what a problem potatoes and tomatoes were for my body, until I gave them up for 30 days and then tried to re-introduce them, one at a time... It's probably because they were a staple in our diet (several times a week), so I never went without them long enough to notice what a difference it made, and I wasn't able to feel the impact of a fresh onslaught of nightshades, because I never fully recovered from the previous exposure before having more. 30 days was eye-opening.0
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Yeah, wheat coating fries is happening in a few places and restaurants. I can even buy commercial oven fries here that list wheat in the ingredients.. It's the next greatest thing, I guess.
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Akimajuktuq wrote: »Yeah, wheat coating fries is happening in a few places and restaurants. I can even buy commercial oven fries here that list wheat in the ingredients.. It's the next greatest thing, I guess.
Eeww... Well, one more reason to avoid them at restaurants, then.
Homemade's better anyway, because you can cook them in lard (hey, if you're going to misbehave, might as well make it worth it!).
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Amen to homemade.... but I'm not going to let myself go down that road either! lol0
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Dragonwolf wrote: »Akimajuktuq wrote: »Yeah, wheat coating fries is happening in a few places and restaurants. I can even buy commercial oven fries here that list wheat in the ingredients.. It's the next greatest thing, I guess.
Eeww... Well, one more reason to avoid them at restaurants, then.
Homemade's better anyway, because you can cook them in lard (hey, if you're going to misbehave, might as well make it worth it!).
Mmm, mmm! When I oven roast potatoes I do it the French way with duck fat. While it's a rare treat I have noticed that when I use a good quality animal fat with potatoes rather than veg oil they are more satisfying and I don't feel the need to go back for seconds.0 -
I think it's good to eliminate potatoes for a while to force yourself to experiment with other veggies. My hubby's go-to side is rice. Rice with everything. When we do whole30, he is force to come up with a new side dish, like carrots or broccoli. But it expands the repertoire. When we aren't following whole30, I keep eating the veggies while he has his rice. He finds now that sweet potatoes are much more flavourful than white potatoes.
I also echo everyone's comments about organic (and maybe local?) potatoes0 -
Potatoes are generally chalk full of the saponin class of chemicals, and this is the big reason they are shunned in paleo communities. Cordain made a big deal out of this and some other chemicals that occur in some legumes, which caused a big AHS issue when Matt Lalonde took Cordain down with the science behind a lot of this. Now, saponins are things that should be avoided in context to health, but these reside primarily in the skin. This means avoiding the skin will avoid the saponin. Then there are the lectins in legumes that are bad. Generally, they will break down during proper preparation and cooking. Peanuts are a special case, in that their lectins remain intact and toxic no matter what you do.
Most of the Paleo community is laying off their distain of Potatoes, but they also will not tell you to run and eat a bunch. Take the skin off and fit them in accordingly and you should be fine. Of course, if you're very sensitive to nightshades you should abstain, but in a potato the toxic chemicals reside in the skin.0 -
Irish girl here who loves potatoes! No nightshade problem or joint pain but I do have to monitor blood sugar, so I leave them to a rare treat. Organic, baked, and only about a quarter of a potato. I make sure I put enough coconut or olive oil on it to buffer the blood sugar spike. Then I get out and move to get my body's natural insulin pump working properly. That way I don't feel completely deprived. But, I cannot keep CHIPS in the house at all! Those salty little devils! Fries are a huge temptation but I don't bring them home, or even attempt to make them myself because I will eat them ALL. I try to avoid while eating out. I remind myself that indulging won't help me get to where I really want to be. Not always successful, but good positive, preemptive self-talk helps! Hubby hates sweet potatoes and I find they still negatively affect blood sugar (to a lesser degree, but still) so when I indulge I'd rather have part of an organic white potato...but way less of it. I made up my mind it would be manageable, or it's out! So far, so good.0
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Irish ancestry... maybe that explains my challenge with all things potato....
![:\](https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/resources/emoji/confused.png ":\")
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Lol Akimajuktuq! Potatoes rule but I won't let them rule ME. How's dat?0
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SOO, I am not sure how much Irish I have in me, but potato addict number 3 present and accounted for! LOL!!0
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PrimalRemedy LOL "Those salty little devils!" Spot on!0
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I admittedly did not read all of the replies so I don't know if anyone may have suggested this at all, and I cant answer the potato question because I am too new to Paleo, BUT...I know my CSA has a swap bin for anything you don't like. Maybe that is an option?0
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Personally, I do much better with potatoes than I do with sweet potatoes or yams, which make me feel irritable and bloated. I stick to organic purple potatoes which are full of antioxidants and higher in nutrients. I don't eat a ton of them and will often pre cook them, cool them and eat them cold or reheated as a source of resistant starch.0
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Sometimes a baked potato saves me from eating non-paleo junk. It feels like an indulgence and is awesome with steak!0
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I've added potatoes back intoy diet after I completed the weight loss phase. Usually purple or sweet potatoes, but I will eat the rare white potato. I use the potatoes to get my carbs up to around 100 gr/ day.0
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I'm pretty lucky. I don't have any major food allergies or intolerances except for peanuts, so I will have potatoes once in a blue moon (usually chips).... but I do tend to avoid them though because of the antinutrients they contain. I'd rather have a sweet potato, beetroot, parsnip or turnip. Personally, I just think there are better (tastier) options.
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