I love Potatoes and all things Savory...

poodledoodlepop wrote: »

Ah, I love the advice but potatoes get me in trouble!! I'm wondering if there's some sort of potato substitute kind of like they have the peanut butter substitute

In trouble how? You eat too much & then go over your deficit?

Well, this week i've made a bunch of roasted veggies.

Like: 1 sweet potato, 1 regular potato, a bunch of carrots, parsnips, beets, etc. They all have a pretty similar awesome texture when cooked and i enjoyed it. I guess that'd be a way to sub for it. Just eat them mixed in with lower calorie vegetables.

I've also seen people do mashed potatoes with 1/2 potato and 1/2 cauliflower.


The problem with your thought of "kind of like they have the peanut butter substitute" won't work because potatoes are made from carbohydrate.

The peanut butter substitutes only work because they remove the fat from the peanut butter. It removes like 80% of the calories because fat is 9 calories per gram.

Carbs and protein are 4 calories per gram.

So->
Potatoes- calories per gram 4 from carbs
cant be substituted for any other macronutrient to make it less calories because
protein is also 4 calories per gram
fat is 9 calories per gram.
There are only 3 macronutrients of food- protein, carbs, and fat.

poodledoodlepop wrote: »

In trouble as in if I start eating potatoes I won't stop kind of thing.

An alcoholic knows to avoid alcohol. If you really can't stop, avoid potatoes. No semi potatoes, faux potatoes, or even small portions of potatoes.

WBB55 wrote: »

So let's say you took a baked potato and you topped it with some veggies and salsa or bacon and an egg or something.

Let's say that was 400 calories. What would happen then? You'd make a second potato? You'd head back to the cupboard for potato chips?

Here's why I'm saying it. For me, if it's French fries or some kind of cheesy potatoes, I'm with you about not stopping. But if I literally make 1 baked potato and I put a goodly amount of unsaturated fats and low fat proteins on it, I typically find that very satisfying potato-craving-wise. We're all different, though. So maybe that wouldn't work for you.

This is a really good point. I find it REALLY difficult to stop eating french fries. But when I chop up a potato and put it in a brothy soup with other vegetables, I don't have the same problem. A big bowl of mashed potatoes leaves me wanting more. But a portion of mashed potatoes topped with a high-protein stew or curry is enough for me.

I love potatoes. I always say it's not the potato at fault but the toppings I could select for on top of the potato. The toppings can be troublesome because they can add up quickly. I rarely make mashed potatoes. I often have baked whole or oven baked potato wedges or boiled. I like making a whole dinner around a baked potato and top it with cooked veggies and protein. I keep my serving to one medium potato.

So you love potatoes, and have the concern that when you indulge in them it is hard to eat a reasonable amount, making it difficult to work into your caloric budget.

Potatoes aren't all that good raw; you're making big batches at a time, more than one serving. Your trouble is portion control.

I do almost all my cooking in bulk, and i only cook things i'm really going to like. In the past, i'd cook up a pan full of food, fill my bowl, and enjoy it. Before too long, i'd be back at the pan for seconds that i didn't really need, but sounded good. Then i got fat.

Now i still cook in bulk, but before i eat, i portion the meals out, and throw them in the freezer. I'll only reserve one reasonable portion's worth.

Now that i've learned about portioning my food, it's a rather simply matter and not a struggle for willpower to resist that pot of delicious mashed potatoes starting at me as i go for another glass of water.

Also, you don't need to sub out foods you love entirely, instead you can enjoy them by complimenting them with something to bulk out the portion:

• Mashed cauliflower is okay. Mashed cauliflower bulking out mashed potatoes is fantastic! You get a heap of potatoes at half the calories, and it is hard to tell the difference with a 1:1 ratio.
• I like to oven roast potatoes, but now i add some zucchini or squash, and portion them out before eating.

Still eating tasty food in satisfying portions, all within my calorie budget. And feeling fitter and more in control each day.

I personally wouldn't stop eating them all together. Everything in moderation. Here are options that you could possibly try you:

- Don't buy them all together (if they aren't in the house you can't eat them)
- Only make a small portion so that once it's done it's done
- Use a smaller plate scoop out a bit of potatoes but make sure to add more vegetables and protein to your plate so that you don't rely solely on potatoes to help fill you up.