Potato Power

Potatoes are delicious. Don’t you love hot and crispy French fries straight from the air fryer? Don’t you love creamy mashed potatoes drizzled with a big ladle of a savory gravy? Don’t you love warm hash browns in the morning, alongside your eggs and bacon? Well, this love for potatoes is actually a positive thing. Potatoes are an extremely nutritious, versatile, and cheap food that you should consider including in your diet.

What are the health benefits of potatoes?

Potatoes are a highly nutritious food. They contain plenty of vitamins, minerals, and are a good source of energy. According to Cleveland Health Clinic, one medium russet potato can provide a quarter of your daily recommendations for potassium, a third of your Vitamin C, and a third of your Vitamin B6 goal, four grams of fiber, and five grams of protein. That’s outstanding for just one potato! Other varieties of potatoes possess even greater health benefits. According to Harvard, sweet potatoes are an excellent source of Vitamin A, responsible for good eyesight, normal growth, and a healthy immune system. For such a small vegetable, potatoes pack a punch of nutrition!

What kinds of potatoes are there?

To get more out of eating potatoes, try other varieties. Potatoes come in all shapes, sizes and colors! If you want to make a great baked potato, try buying jumbo-sized russets. They’re absolutely enormous and incredibly delicious! Want to make mashed potatoes, but you despise having to peel each one by hand? No worries! Red potatoes can be mashed without peeling because their skin is so thin. French Fries taste great when made from russets, gold potatoes, and even sweet potatoes! The most spectacular potatoes are the purple variety, which are an extremely dark shade of purple, making them look like an oversized grape. They offer the highest amounts of antioxidants than any other potato.

Using different types potatoes in your dishes can have amazing impacts on your health. Your gut bacteria become more diverse because you’re eating different types of foods, helping to reduce inflammation in the body. Sweet potatoes offer more vitamins than normal potatoes, and purple potatoes offer truckloads of antioxidants! Make it a point to try a different type every time you make a potato recipe. It will expand your palate, and it will make you a healthier person!

How much do potatoes cost?

This nutritious vegetable is relatively inexpensive. One five pound bag of russet potatoes cost only about $3.00, while a five pound bag of rice cost almost $7.00, and one pound of pasta costs about $4.00. This makes potatoes one of the cheapest starches that you can buy. Other varieties of potatoes tend to cost more, like sweet, red, and purple potatoes. Nonetheless, they’re worth the money because of the nutritious goodies packed inside of them!

How can I make potatoes not boring?

Eating potatoes often, while healthy, can also become very boring because of their bland taste and texture. However, there plenty of ways to cook and season potatoes to produce food that belongs in a five star restaurant. Potatoes can be cut in several different ways, including into long strips and fried, like French fries, cut in to 1 inch cubes and roasted, mashed, turned into hash browns, made in pancakes, or baked whole. They can be seasoned with nearly any combination of spices. Great seasonings for potatoes include salt and pepper, curry, garlic and herb, cumin, fresh thyme, chili powder, grated parmesan cheese, honey mustard, pumpkin spice, vegan bacon powder, and even taco seasoning!

A nutritious, versatile, and downright delicious food, consider replacing your rice or pasta with potatoes. They’ll taste great, elevate your meal, and make you a healthier person!