One potato, two potato, three potato more!

I saw an excellent advertisement for potatoes in a magazine. It contrasted the common belief that potatoes are a worthless starch with the truth that potatoes are fat free, high in vitamin C and have more potassium than bananas. Potatoes have a bad reputation for being fattening and nothing but empty calories. Perhaps if the only potatoes you eat are chips and fries that might be the case, but potatoes are a classic comfort food and they provide some serious nutrition.

As America’s Cooking Cheerleader ™, I have taken on the mission to open your thinking and dispel some misconceptions and myths that circulate around real food. When I use the term real food, I am referring to any food that does not come with a label; real foods have not been altered in any way. When the majority of your diet is comprised of real foods, that you purchase and cook yourself, you will be getting better nutrition, more fiber, satiety, and flavor than what you get from manufactured food. Real foods are less expensive, do not contain any added preservatives, artificial flavorings, or colorings, and they have the nutrients and fiber they were born with.

Compare a 100-calorie serving of potato chips with a 100-calorie serving of boiled potatoes. With the chips, you ingest salt, fat and preservatives and the quantity is a tiny handful--hardly enough to put your hunger at bay. With the potato, you get fiber, vitamins, minerals, no fat or salt and you will feel something in your belly. I am not the food police; potato chips taste great and they have a place in your diet. Just use your common sense and eat real potatoes more often, and in greater quantity, than the manufactured version.

Cooking is easier than you think and you are worth the time and effort it takes.

Simple cooking idea: If your honey crystallizes, put it in the microwaves for a few seconds and it will become liquid again.

Copyright ©2010 by Gigi Centaro. All Rights Reserved.