Are Potatoes Fattening, Healthy or Just Tasty Good For You Food?

I woke up this AM thinking about my honey's potato burrito. Is it a healthy food or just good to eat? I thought I'd find out more about the mighty potato. It is, after all, probably one of the most favored foods.

In fact, I learned that potatoes have been a staple on the American dinner table for over 300 years, although people all over the world have been eating potatoes for much longer.

Who knows how many ways there are to prepare potatoes for the table. Boiled. Mashed. Riced. Roasted, Oven baked, Scalloped. Grilled. With and without skins. Plain or with flavorings mixed in, or with toppings. Served whole or cut up. Hot or cold. I'm sure there are many many more and variations, as well.

Russet Potatoes

There are also many kinds of potatoes used in restaurants and sold in grocery stores. The most common choice for the kitchen cook is the russet potato.

Starchy potatoes, like russets, have high starch and low water. So they are great for baking and boiling for mashed potatoes. The reason is that when baked by dry heat such as in the oven -- they become crumbly and fluffy. Yippee! When cooked in water, they disintegrate quite nicely.

All-purpose or chef's potatoes, like Yukon Golds, have medium starch and medium water. Yukon potatoes are an excellent choice in stews, soups, mashed and for roasting. When cooked, they are at once moist and fluffy. They keep most of their shape in soups and don't dry out when baked.

Are potatoes fattening, healthy or just tasty good-for-you food? I always wondered. Here's what I found out from the experts. Potatoes actually deliver outstanding nutritional content. A potato is a rich source of fiber, potassium and Vitamin C. [The potato skin alone is a good source of fiber.] Like most other vegetables, potatoes are a low calorie food and are free of fat, cholesterol and sodium.

One tablespoon of butter
equals 102 calories

Yup! Potatoes are rich in vitamins and minerals, but a potato is also high in carbohydrates [about 15%]. They are not fattening by themselves, but add just one tablespoon of butter when preparing potatoes and you double the calories. For example, a small potato has about 110 calories, but add one tablespoon of butter, and you get 212 calories.

Holy cow! I used to add a whole stick of butter to my mashed potatoes, as well as milk and often sour cream, cheese and salt which increased sodium as well as calories from fat.

Without additives and toppings, potatoes are good and healthy. A small potato all by itself provides 45% Vitamin C, 8% Fiber, 6% Iron, 18% Potassium, 0% Cholesterol – For Daily Value, that's healthy good food.

Potatoes are also a tough food, and they store quite well. You want to store potatoes in a cool, dry place, because sunlight causes the skin to turn green. If this happens. the skin must then be peeled off before you cook and eat. Most of the nutrients are contained right below the skin.

The potato grows underground and the plant is related to the eggplant and tomato, but not related to the sweet potato.

Potato plants can attract viral, bacterial, protistan and fungal diseases, such as leaf roll, blackleg, black scurf and late blight, which was the cause of severe famine in Ireland from 1845-46.

Farmers often use pesticides to kill potato pests. Be sure to thoroughly wash your potatoes with clean tap water and lightly scrub before starting any sort of preparation. Cut out sprouts or eyes growing from the potato.

Potatoes are grown across the United States and are available year round. When choosing potatoes, be sure they are firm, smooth, and the color they are supposed to be. Russets should be a rich brownish color. Softness, a green tinge or wrinkly skin may indicate that a potato is past its prime.

Note: About 10,000 years ago, the South American Indians cultivated the potato. I find it interesting that sometime in the 16th century, Spanish explorers brought the potato to Europe to feed livestock.

All in all, it seems that potatoes are healthy good food, and fattening only if you add fattening ingredients such as butter, sour cream or cheese.

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