The poor, humble potato. It often gets such a bad rap, but I want to tell you about the many health benefits of the potato!
“Stodgy”. “High in carbs”. “Fattening.” We hear potatoes described with these words all too often, when in fact potatoes are a very nutritious and versatile vegetable which I encourage to eat as part of a balanced diet.
Potatoes are high in phytochemicals, potassium, Vitamin B6 and trace elements. When the skin of a potato is left on this can add a good source of roughage (fibre) to your diet.
Yes, potatoes do contain about 26g of carbohydrate in 1 medium size potato which is equivalent to 2 slices of bread. But hey.. we need carbs to power our brains and keep our energy levels up! Carbohydrates are an essential macronutrient that everybody needs every day. Potatoes, along with other carbohydrate based foods (bread/ pasta/ rice etc), provide a great source of energy for the body.
Let me stress this: carbohydrates are not bad!
So why do potatoes have such a bad name? It’s often put down to the way that we eat potatoes, and their portion sizes. Hot chips at the footy; baked spud oozing with full fat sour cream and overflowing with cheese; potato crisps for a snack; or the creamy mashed potato dolloped with butter and cream with the lamb chops for dinner.
Often it’s the extras which are added to the potato, that pile on the kilojoules, not the potato itself.
I can hear you saying, “well how boring to eat a potato any other way!” NOT TRUE! Here are some less calorie-laden ways to enjoy potatoes:
- Home-made roasted potato chips with a drizzle of olive oil and a few herbs like thyme, rosemary and oregano and a little salt.
- A healthier version of a baked potato such as my Mexican Baked Potato.
- For a creamy mashed potato, add in some fresh chives and light Philadelphia cheese instead of butter and cream to give it that smooth consistency.
For those of you with Type 2 Diabetes, we are lucky to have the yummy sweet potato which is low GI, meaning better for blood sugar management. And also available for those who would prefer white, Coles have available the Carisma and Nicola potatoes which are low GI white potatoes.
So please don’t dismiss the potato – its health benefits, versatility and deliciousness cannot be denied!
If you would like to make an appointment with Jess to talk about getting on track with healthier eating, please get in touch.