Fruits and Vegetables

High carb or not, I do love potatoes. I don’t eat them all the time, but sometimes the perfect dinner involves a baked potato topped with some healthy veggies and cheese. I also like hearty dishes this time of year such as Shepherd’s pie and a cauliflower soup I make that has a few potatoes in it.

I vary my tater intake – standard Idaho, red and sweet. I like them all.

I think most of us know that the best part about potatoes nutritionally is the potassium. I am always concerned with how I cook my vegetables and controlling the nutrients lost during the process, however, my concerns usually lie with my green veggies. I’ve never really thought about this regarding potatoes. I always cube them up to make them cook more quickly.

To my surprise, in October the USDA Food and Nutrition Research Briefs provided information on a recent finding regarding potassium loss when cooking potatoes. When cubed and boiled in water they lose as much as 75% of the mineral. Wow!

Potassium is important in regulating blood pressure. When balanced with sodium intake it can help to prevent and control hypertension.

In addition, for avid exercisers and athletes out there potassium is important because we lose it during muscle use and sweating. When potassium gets too low muscle cramping and cardiovascular complications can result.

If you need some more straight forward information about potassium check out this article from Colorado State Cooperative Extension. Gotta love Extension – I worked for them for three years. Lots of quality, accurate health/nutrition info can be found from the organization.

The best way to save potassium is to cook your potatoes whole and then cube them up or scrape them out for use in your recipes. Losing 75% of any important nutrient is huge. It is a good reminder that real food is good for us, but we still need to pay attention to preparation. Sometimes even when we think we are choosing a healthy option we have to look more closely at what our cooking might be doing to our nutrient-dense foods.

Are you a tater fan? How do you usually prepare them?

Photo by Gracey, www.morguefile.com

Raise your hand if you are trying to eat a bit…well…lighter since Turkey Day. I’ve definitely had it on my mind. I think after the holidays and all that rich, heavy (although very good tasting) food, I am ready to get back on track with healthier foods.

I thought this was the perfect time to experiment with an idea I got when I was traveling in Ireland this past summer. Many of my lunches consisted of stopping by a Marks & Spencer (love that store!) and picking up a wrap and drink, then heading down to the water to eat. Such a bad dining atmosphere, I know.

I did this because it was less expensive; I could choose a healthier meal and after so much traveling around by yourself during the day asking for a table for one can get a bit old.

There was one particular wrap that was delicious – Mexican 3 Bean Wrap. It was lettuce, tomato, black bean salsa, cheese and chunks of sweet potato wrapped in a tortilla. The combination was surprisingly good.

I’ve been wanting to recreate it and finally decided to do so with my need for a lighter meal and left over sweet potatoes. After the potato, casserole and pie overload I’m limiting carbs a bit (at least until the Christmas cookies start coming around) so instead of eating it as a wrap, I turned it into a salad. I just added enough ingredients to make an individual meal.

Black Bean Sweet Potato Salad

Mixed greens
Black beans
Sweet potato, cubed and cooked (I like to boil them a bit to start the cooking process and then sauté to brown and caramelize the cubes)
Shredded cheese, I used an Italian blend
Salsa

So there you have it – veggies, protein, fiber and extra vitamins and minerals all in one tasty salad. Try it as a wrap too. It makes such a great lunch.

I think my first encounter with an avocado was in guacamole from Taco Bell. Ugh! Its green color and slimy texture, the thought of it even makes me cringe today.

It was at that point that I decided I didn’t like guacamole or avocados.

Fortunately I became a little more open minded as I grew up and I started to get interested in the stuff when I learned that people actually make their own guacamole. Hooray! I wasn’t locked into eating that which came out of a pump at fast food restaurants.

Lately I’ve found that I use avocado a lot. I like it on sandwiches, chopped on my salads and I too make my own guacamole. Extra chunky though, I like it to have lots of texture.

I am glad that most of us are past our fear of the fat in avocado. It was one of those good-for-you things that the fat-free craze scared a lot of us away from.

An avocado is loaded with healthy fatty acids that have actually been shown to lower bad cholesterol (LDL) and raise good cholesterol (HDL). They are also full of potassium, folate and vitamin E.

Okay, enough of the healthy, yet boring stuff. Let me tell you why they came to mind this week.

I have felt the need to branch out of my traditional ways of using avocado and look for some new recipes. I had marked a recipe from an Everyday with Rachael Ray magazine from over a year ago. I finally decided to give the Avocado Salad with Cumin-Lime Dressing a try.

I was pleasantly surprised. It is super simple and it tasted so great! I’m always trying to figure out what kind of a side to have with tacos and this salad would be perfect. The cumin gives it a tex-mex flavor.

Instead of iceberg lettuce I used cabbage which made it a little crunchier and more like a slaw. I’d also plan to eat it within a few hours of making it. The moisture doesn’t hold up well in the fridge.

Any favorite avocado combos you want to share?