Missing potatoes much? Spuds are us!

Hey hey!

Far be it from me to knock anyone for cutting potatoes right out of their diet... But what about shepherds pie and potato-leek and bacon soup? Shall we kick such delightful morsels to the proverbial curb?!?!

I say HELL NO!

While there is certainly no absolute substitute for that fluffy, billowy texture of mashed taters or the thick and creamy consistency of them puréed in one of my many favourite soups... There is hope! And my friends, it lies in cauliflower!

Jokes aside, even before I was dieting, cauliflower stole centre stage in a few of my dinner menus selections. And not just because it's colour provides a kind of mental trickery in that I forget (the same way I try to trick my brain into margarine a la "I CANT BELIEVE ITS NOT BUTTER!!!") I'm not actually eating potatoes. The greatest thing about cauliflower is its rediculous versatility! Steamed, mashed, puréed, liquified, even pan seared or deep fried!

Ok wait a tick..,. I'm rhyming now.

Bottom line, is that there's some pretty darn creative ways to use the diet foods to trick your brain into being happier with the food you're eating. There's other foods that are part of this secret society though! I challenge you to seek them out! Or at least wait til I have time to post about them and how you can use em!

Friend me if you have cooking questions or if you simply need suggestions!

There's the rhyming again,,, must be my cue to go to bed. Goodnight all!

P.S. Potatoes... I got your number B****ES!!!
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Replies

  • I have seen cauliflower pizza base, but have never actually tried to make one myself.
    hmm, maybe a task for this weekend? ;)
  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
    Cauliflour is delicious in a variety of preperations...but what's wrong with potatoes? Also, can I have your potatoes if you're not eating them?
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,149 Member
    Passive-aggressive potato hate? It's too early for this.
  • fobs13
    fobs13 Posts: 1,080 Member
    I'm Irish so would never eliminate potatoes from my diet lol. I lost 33 pounds while eliminating no food. Moderation in all things is my motto!
  • cityruss
    cityruss Posts: 2,493 Member
    Cauliflowers are nice. Potatoes are nice.

    But they aren't replacements for one another, they are what they are.
  • _Terrapin_
    _Terrapin_ Posts: 4,301 Member

    boil them, mash them, stick them in a stew. . . .this video will literally make people get in a fetal position and ask for their mommy.
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    If you want to cut the carbs and calories a little in your soups and stews, try turnips instead of potatoes. They hold up well to the long cooking and are very tasty.

    According to the USDA Nutrition database,
    100 g. turnips (raw): 28 calories, 6g carbs, 0 fat, 1g protein, 67 mg sodium, 2 g fiber
    100 g red potatoes, raw with skin: 70 calories, 16g carbs, 0 fat, 2 g protein, 18 mg sodium, 2 g fiber

    Both are very healthy and tasty but if you need to make cuts somewhere, this is one good option. The lowly turnip needs more respect!
  • auddii
    auddii Posts: 15,357 Member
    earlnabby wrote: »
    If you want to cut the carbs and calories a little in your soups and stews, try turnips instead of potatoes. They hold up well to the long cooking and are very tasty.

    According to the USDA Nutrition database,
    100 g. turnips (raw): 28 calories, 6g carbs, 0 fat, 1g protein, 67 mg sodium, 2 g fiber
    100 g red potatoes, raw with skin: 70 calories, 16g carbs, 0 fat, 2 g protein, 18 mg sodium, 2 g fiber

    Both are very healthy and tasty but if you need to make cuts somewhere, this is one good option. The lowly turnip needs more respect!

    Hm, I might have to try that; I can't stand the flavor of cauliflower.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    evil whole food potatoes....
  • cmtigger
    cmtigger Posts: 1,450 Member
    I still eat potatoes. Carbs are not my enemy. Everything in moderation. dtex4tevhtqh.jpg
  • Queenmunchy
    Queenmunchy Posts: 3,380 Member
    Turnips are excellent in stew! Puréed cauliflower also serves as the base for many of my chowders.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    Cauliflower is great to eat and versatile but potatoes are fine to eat too even when you are trying to lose weight.
    I enjoy mashed cauliflower, zucchini noodles, etc on occasion as a way to enjoy more vegetables in my diet not as a trick.
  • elisharenee149
    elisharenee149 Posts: 5 Member
    Potatoes will never be an elimination food for me but I gatta cut back on em - moderation is absolutely the key; but as far as them being bad - bad isn't the issue.... It's choosing when to enjoy them and when it's still tasty to substitute them for something else that's not gonna weigh ya down.... Mind you, I always felt worse eating them personally - no matter how much I love them
  • shadowfax_c11
    shadowfax_c11 Posts: 1,942 Member
    Life without po=ta-toes?

    Yeah I don't think so.

    I like cauliflower too but I don't need one kind of food to pretend it is another kind of food. I like to eat all of the foods.... in moderation. :)
  • Chief_Rocka
    Chief_Rocka Posts: 4,710 Member
    So cauliflower with butter and cream > potatoes with butter and cream. Got it.

    I'm going to stop drinking water, because pop contains water.

  • shadowfax_c11
    shadowfax_c11 Posts: 1,942 Member
    This thread made me crave cheesy mashed potatoes... guess what's for lunch? :D
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    Cauliflour is delicious in a variety of preperations...but what's wrong with potatoes? Also, can I have your potatoes if you're not eating them?

    This.

    Also, I don't eat diet food. I eat regular food. Cauliflower is not a diet food created to pretend to be foods it is not. It's a lovely regular food that I eat because it tastes good.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited September 2015
    earlnabby wrote: »
    If you want to cut the carbs and calories a little in your soups and stews, try turnips instead of potatoes. They hold up well to the long cooking and are very tasty.

    According to the USDA Nutrition database,
    100 g. turnips (raw): 28 calories, 6g carbs, 0 fat, 1g protein, 67 mg sodium, 2 g fiber
    100 g red potatoes, raw with skin: 70 calories, 16g carbs, 0 fat, 2 g protein, 18 mg sodium, 2 g fiber

    Both are very healthy and tasty but if you need to make cuts somewhere, this is one good option. The lowly turnip needs more respect!

    I eat lots of root vegetables, including turnips. (Also kohlrabi, carrots, sunchokes, parsnips, celeriac. I'm not as sold on rutabagas, but I'll likely get some of them in my CSA box soon, so will take a run at them too.) Anyway, I have no favorites, but turnips are up there.

    I do a include a mix, with potatoes or sweet potatoes, though. But I also will choose my mix depending on how many calories I want, and I agree that the lower cal stuff fulfills the starchy side dish role perfectly well (and work great in a stew).

    I don't usually mash anything, other than on a rare occasion like Thanksgiving.
  • RuNaRoUnDaFiEld
    RuNaRoUnDaFiEld Posts: 5,864 Member
    I love baby potatoes roasted whole with a knob of butter and crushed garlic, my idea of heaven!
  • Ang108
    Ang108 Posts: 1,711 Member
    Hey hey!

    Far be it from me to knock anyone for cutting potatoes right out of their diet... But what about shepherds pie and potato-leek and bacon soup? Shall we kick such delightful morsels to the proverbial curb?!?!

    I say HELL NO!

    While there is certainly no absolute substitute for that fluffy, billowy texture of mashed taters or the thick and creamy consistency of them puréed in one of my many favourite soups... There is hope! And my friends, it lies in cauliflower!

    Jokes aside, even before I was dieting, cauliflower stole centre stage in a few of my dinner menus selections. And not just because it's colour provides a kind of mental trickery in that I forget (the same way I try to trick my brain into margarine a la "I CANT BELIEVE ITS NOT BUTTER!!!") I'm not actually eating potatoes. The greatest thing about cauliflower is its rediculous versatility! Steamed, mashed, puréed, liquified, even pan seared or deep fried!

    Ok wait a tick..,. I'm rhyming now.

    Bottom line, is that there's some pretty darn creative ways to use the diet foods to trick your brain into being happier with the food you're eating. There's other foods that are part of this secret society though! I challenge you to seek them out! Or at least wait til I have time to post about them and how you can use em!

    Friend me if you have cooking questions or if you simply need suggestions!

    There's the rhyming again,,, must be my cue to go to bed. Goodnight all!

    P.S. Potatoes... I got your number B****ES!!!

    Potatoes are the perfect diet food for me. I eat them usually with some Sri Racha sauce, or salsa Valentina or just some good quality natural salt and lots of black pepper. If I need something creamy on top, then it's home made greek yogurt, or half a cup of home made Tzatziki.
    Cauliflower is my #2 favorite vegetable ( after Brussels sprouts ), but I would not make tortillas, rice or pizza crust with it. I prefer it all natural....:o).

  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,603 Member
    I eat potatoes a lot. There are some in the oven as I type. Go, potatos! :)
  • I eat potatoes all the time. Cauliflower is good, too. But, it's not a potato.

    P.S. I eat REAL butter, too, and make my mashed potatoes with heavy whipping cream. Oh, and sometimes I drink whole milk.

    Down 100 pounds.
    REAL FOOD... I'VE GOT YOUR NUMBER!
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
  • Strawblackcat
    Strawblackcat Posts: 944 Member
    I got some local organic potatoes at the grocery store today and baked one of them in the toaster tonight for dinner. So yummy. They were so fresh that the skin was fork tender and you could eat it without having to chew any harder than you would for the potato itself. Filled me up for 200 calories, so I can't complain. I don't know why people demonize potatoes so much. Considering how well they satisfy hunger, they're a calorie bargain.
  • bclarke1990
    bclarke1990 Posts: 287 Member
    steak potatoes brussel sprouts and broccoli is like my staple "balanced meal".
  • emma_vdv
    emma_vdv Posts: 34 Member
    I have seen cauliflower pizza base, but have never actually tried to make one myself.
    hmm, maybe a task for this weekend? ;)

    I have this all the time, sooo good. Haven't had a bread based pizza in about 5-6 months as this is cheap, quick and easy to make from scratch. Plus if I make extra bases they freeze well.

  • suziecue20
    suziecue20 Posts: 567 Member
    edited September 2015
    I love potatoes (any kind of potato, done any way) and cauliflower.

    Cauliflower and Sweet Potato Curry - yummy!!!!! 257 calories - bargain!!!
    Makes 4 Portions
    1 tbsp. vegetable oil
    1 onion, chopped
    1 garlic clove, crushed
    1 tbsp. medium curry powder
    4 tsp plain flour
    350g orange-fleshed sweet potatoes- cut into cubes
    350g cauliflower florets
    850ml vegetable stock
    100g green beans, trimmed
    1 tsp garam masala

    1. sauté onion for 2-3 mins. Stir in garlic, curry power and flour and cook another min.
    2. Add sweet potatoes along with cauliflower and stock. Bring to boil and simmer 10-15 minutes until the potatoes are almost tender.
    3. Stir in the green beans and garam masala and cook for 3 mins.
    4. Serve with warm naan bread (EXTRA CALS) and wedges of lime

  • elisharenee149
    elisharenee149 Posts: 5 Member
    Oooooooohhhh sounds super yummy and mucho inviting! I'm a curry lover myself - great recipe!
  • girlwithcurls2
    girlwithcurls2 Posts: 2,281 Member
    I just dug up some spuds for dinner tonight. Yum. Only a potato is a potato. Cauliflower has its place (go curry!) but why "trick" my brain?? Love me a potato...