Potatoes

[hk224]

So... I know that potatoes are on the eat rarely/not at all list, but are some better than others as far as GI? Is there a GI site anyone knows of?

[Mindy moves on!]

I can't remember the GI sites off hand but what I can tell you is that the more processed the potato the higher the glycemic index. Mashed is the worst form because it releases a lot of the starch in the potato. I think in the SB book, Dr. A suggests boiled new potatoes as being the least glycemic (though still very high). Baked potatoes are very high glycemic too. So if I had to rank them, I'd say,

• Boiled New Potatoes - lower on the glycemic scale
• Baked is a little higher
• Mashed is the highest

Again, keep in mind you should eat rarely. I would save this for rarely on Phase 3.

But sweet potatotes and yams are acceptable on Phase 2. Have you considered these? Baked sweet potato fries cooked with olive oil, salt, pepper and paprika are delicious! Try them, you may get your potato craving satisfied.

Also a lot of us on this board eat mashed cauliflower with a little skim milk or low fat/fat free creamer and smart balance mixed in. You'll be surprised how much this tastes like regular mashed potatoes except that it satisfies you more for some reason. I even make mock potato salad with the cauliflower. And by the way, I used to HATE cauliflower before I tried it this way!! Now I'm a devotee!!!

[luv2bike]

I make the mashed cauliflower with some lf onion and chive flavored cream cheese in it. Yum!

I also love baked sweet potatoes! Haven't tried the oven baked fries yet.

I really don't miss white potatoes at all.

[hk224]

Thanks, I will definitely try the mashed cauliflower, though I have been skeptical about it!

[Mindy moves on!]

I was skeptical BIG TIME because I thought I hated cauliflower. Now I eat it often. It's pretty amazing the things you learn on this way of eating!

[nancy]

Me too! Me too!

I LOVE the mashed cauliflower. I honestly like it better than mashed potatoes. I believe most people would start preferring it to mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving once they got used to it. (Maybe they would be more accepting if they weren't told it was cauliflower at first!) I do mine with the food processor, liquid ICBINB, salt, pepper, maybe chives. I don't need cream or milk. Delish!!!

And yams & sweet potatoes are GREAT just baked in the microwave too. They have a delicious natural sweetness.

[Mindy moves on!]

Originally Posted by nancy

I LOVE the mashed cauliflower. I honestly like it better than mashed potatoes. I believe most people would start preferring it to mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving once they got used to it.

I know!! Isn't it amazing how tasteless regular potatoes seem after eating the mashed cauliflower? It's as if it has more density than a potato and all the flavor!!!

[bonniejo80]

Ok, I have been wondering about this; why is Sweet potatoes better for you than regular? I don't get how something called sweet can be lower in the GI index. Sweet peas aren't. anyone know why?

[Mindy moves on!]

Sweet potatoes and yams are much more fiberous than a regular potato. Did you ever notice how much more difficult it is to cut through a raw sweetpotato vs a regular potato? They are so much more dense. So it is my belief that the natural high fiber in the sweet potato slows down the insulin impact into the blood stream. And the sweetness in a sweet potato is not from added sugar.

Sweet peas on the other hand are much higher in starch. It is the starch that hits the high side of the glycemic index. The starch is so concentrated that it acts like a simple sugar in the blood stream as opposed to a sweet potato that has all of that fiber to slow down the natural sugars.

And sweet potatoes are also loaded with betacarotene so they are extremely healthy. All bright orange veggies have this nutrient so that is not overlooked either in terms of eating the healthiest foods on this diet.