If you love potatoes as much as I do, you should read this article which says that ”Potatoes belong in the diet. Children who consume white potatoes have more nutrient-dense diets, overall, and they actually eat more of other vegetables,”

Not fried potatoes though. They have to be baked, boiled and so on.

A medium size potato has only 110 calories, has no fat, no cholesterol and no sodium. It is also loaded with vitamin C and more potassium than a banana.

Of course, this is a plain potato. Not one with salt plus a gob of butter and sour cream on top.

Back in the day my mother used potatoes to get us to eat other vegetables. She made mashed potatoes, mixed it with spinach and called it “creamed spinach.” It’s what I thought creamed spinach was until I tasted real creamed spinach much later in life. Her recipe was more like Colcannon, the traditional Irish recipe that mixes mashed potatoes and cabbage. It was SOOOO delicious. Here’s the recipe: 

Mom’s Creamed Spinach

3 medium to large all-purpose potatoes

3 tablespoons butter

1 bunch spinach, washed

3/4 cup milk

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

chopped parsley, optional

Peel the potatoes and cut them into chunks. Cook the potatoes in lightly salted water for about 15 minutes or until tender. Drain the potatoes. Add the butter and mash with a potato masher or ricer until most of the lumps have disappeared. Place the spinach in a steamer basket over a pan of water, cover and cook over medium heat for a few minutes until the spinach has wilted. Drain the spinach in a sieve. Press down to extract as much liquid from the spinach as possible. Add the spinach to the potatoes and mix the ingredients. Bring the milk to a simmer, then pour it into the potato mixture. Mix thoroughly. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste. Mix in a tablespoon or two of fresh chopped parsley if desired. Makes 4 servings