The Skinny On Potatoes

I feel sorry for the poor potato who has lost its popularity with the rise of the low-carb craze. Is this really necessary? NO! Potatoes are an AMAZING vegetable and should be part of your diet! Let’s see what you think after reading The Skinny On Potatoes 🥔.

Tara’s Tuesday Tips:

The Skinny on Potatoes

Is a potato really a vegetable?

Yes, potatoes are in the class of ‘starchy vegetables’ along with corn and green peas. Potato crops are the biggest vegetable crop in the US and they are the most consumed vegetable by Americans. The USDA reports here that the average American consumes around 50 pounds per person per year! Sadly, they are mostly in the form of French fries in school cafeterias 🙁 .

Let’s talk nutritional content:

110 calories
Zero grams of fat, cholesterol, and sodium
3 grams of protein
Excellent source of potassium (more than a banana)
High in vitamin C, B6, magnesium
4 grams of fiber

Potatoes keep you feeling full

Some nutrition research suggests that potatoes keep you feeling more full for hours after eating them compared to other carbohydrates (white pasta, breads, baked goods).

Potatoes and diabetics

I talk a lot about glycemic index. One reason diabetics shy away from potatoes is that potatoes have a high glycemic index. This means that they cause your blood sugar to rise after you eat. However, we need to consider that when we eat things together, we get an average of all of the glycemic indexes together. So, even though a potato has a high glycemic index if you pair your potato with some olive oil and protein and veggies you are balancing out your meal and slow down that rise in blood sugar. So, yes, if you are diabetic you can enjoy an occasional potato but be careful what else you are eating with it, prepare it well, and watch your portion size. Read these: The Vegetarian’s Guide To Food Pairing For Glucose Control, How To Eat To Prevent Diabetes.

Spud swaps

How a potato is prepared is what gives it such a bad reputation. Drowning it in oil, frying it, covering it in saturated fats of cheese and butter turn a beautiful nutrient-rich potato into a calorie bomb.

- Baked potato: trade out butter, sour cream, or bacon for yogurt, broccoli, green onions, or our favorite is to top our potato with my homemade vegetarian chili.
- French fries: trade out deep fried or battered fries for oven roasted fries drizzled with spices and olive oil or our favorite: Air Fryer Italian Herb Potatoes
- Mashed: trade out whole milk and butter when preparing mashed potatoes for vegetable broth, skim milk or dairy-free milk, onions, and even try drizzling in pesto. Need a recipe? Here you go!

Athletes

Runners World considers the potato the perfect carb. I agree. Ounce for ounce potatoes give you a more energy than pasta making this a better carb-loading food than those noodles or spaghetti that we eat pre-long-run. Some endurance athletes even eat them during a run. The high vitamin A content makes them a perfect post-work-out snack to repair muscles and microtears.

Can you eat potatoes if you are trying to lose weight?

I don’t believe in banning any food from an overall healthy diet. If you ban a food you will start dreaming about it until you consume an entire grocery cart full of it. I’m exaggerating here but it is slightly true. Allow yourself to eat a potato now and then, it is ok. Actually, if you eat a baked potato topped with veggies you will feel full for a long period of time and may not consume as many calories overall because you will remain satiated with a decreased appetite.

Money

I find this article fascinating as it discusses the impact that world-wide vegetarianism would have. Saving $250 billion sounds good to me so go buy some potatoes instead of that meat. Potatoes are cheap to buy especially when compared to meat. $4 for 5lbs of organic potatoes. Remember, potatoes are one of the dirty dozen so go organic when you can. Need help choosing organic? Start here.

Tara’s Most Valuable Potato Tips

Be careful how your potato is prepared
Watch your portion size
Buy organic
Always pair with veggies + protein

This article was originally published in November 2017, updated June 2023, for another Tuesday Tips article about potatoes, read this: The Vegetarian’s Guide To Potatoes.