Potatoes, America's favorite side dish (2024)

LAS CRUCES -While the potato may be a high carbohydrate food, when properly portioned, this root vegetable can be a healthy addition to any meal.

According to Carol Turner, a clinical dietitian at Memorial Medical Center, potatoes are a nutritional bargain.

“A 5-ounce potato (about the size of a computer mouse) has about 100 calories, no fat, 26 grams of carbohydrate, 3 grams fiber, 21 percent of the daily recommendation for potassium and 45 percent of the daily recommendation for vitamin C,” Turner said.

Potatoes also contain fiber, which can help youmaintain a healthy weight and lower yourrisk of diabetes and heart disease, according to Mayo Clinic.

"A medium potato with skin has about 2 grams of fiber," Turner said. "Many people think of the skin as the high fiber portion of the potato. However, about two-thirds of the total fiber content is inside, in the flesh of the potato."

Potatoes are also inexpensive and available fresh year-round, she said.

Varieties of potatoes

According to Turner, some of the common North American varieties include:

• Russet Burbank

• Yellow Finn

• Red Gold

• German Butterball

• Yukon Gold

• All Blue

While most potatoes have a light brown or red skin with white flesh, some other varieties have purple/blue and yellow flesh, Turner said.

“These new varieties offer the additional benefit of foods that provide antioxidants, including vitamin C, carotenoids and anthocyanins,” she said. “The amounts and types are dependent upon the potato variety, so be sure to include a variety of these colorful potatoesin your diet.”

Antioxidants may help prevent some diseases, such as cancer, macular degeneration and Alzheimer’s disease, according to WebMD.

Perfect portions

When it comes to portion sizes, Marianne McLaughlin, certified nutrition therapist and nutritional health coach at Natural Grocers in Las Cruces, said itdepends on a person’s activity level.

“For many people, halfa baked potato or 1 cup should be fine,” McLaughlin said. “…Very active people need more carbs than sedentary people or people who have metabolic issues.”

Added toppings, such as butter, cheese or gravycan also add excess calories and fat. Those looking to reduce the number of calories they consume should consider using "reduced fat"or "light" products, or smaller amounts ofhighercalorie toppings, Turner said.

“A 100-calorie potato with no fat becomes a ‘stuffed potato’ with 463 calories and 35 grams fat when you add 2 tablespoons of butter, one-quartercup of cheddar cheese and 2 tablespoons of bacon bits,” Turner said. “Over time, excess calories from any source can result in weight gain.”

Unhealthy side

“Potatoes can be unhealthy if they are fried or cooked with damaged oils, such as trans fats or even vegetable oils,” McLaughlin said. “They can also be unhealthy if over-consumed or paired with a high carbohydrate meal.”

While potatoes can be part of a healthy diet, they should not be substituted for other vegetables, McLaughlin said.

“Vegetables of all colors should fill up half your plate for each meal,” she said. “So I recommend always including some low glycemic veggies like leafy greens, cauliflower, onion, garlic, zucchini.The more variety, the better.”

Healthy preparation

Healthy methods include steamed, baked or sliced and baked with olive oil or coconut oil, McLaughlin said.

“The concern about the starch or glycemic effect of white potatoes can be mitigated by cooking then cooling them in the refrigerator overnight,” she said. “This transforms the starch to ‘resistant starch.’ Resistant starch is resistant to digestion.When it reaches the colon, our microbiota (collection of microorganisms which live in the gut) can ferment these starches into short chain fatty acids which provide many health benefits, including supporting healthy blood sugar levels.”

Quick recipe

Rosemary Roasted Potatoes

• 1 pound small, redpotatoes

• 2 Tbsp. olive oil

• 1⁄2 tsp. crushed, dried rosemary

• 1⁄2 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Washpotatoesthoroughly. Cut in half. Arrange in shallow pan. Drizzle with olive oil and turn to coat well. Sprinkle with rosemary and salt. Stir to mix well. Bake uncovered in a 400 degrees oven, stirring occasionally, until tender (25 to 35 minutes).

Makes four servings. Each serving has 145 calories, 18 grams carbohydrate, 7.2 grams of fat, 2 grams fiber and 298 milligramssodium, according to Turner.

Alexia Severson may be reached at 575-541-5462, aseverson@lcsun-news.com or @AlexiaMSeverson on Twitter.