It’s Chanukah time and many of us are getting out our favorite potato latke recipes. As a nutritionist, I am acutely aware of the confusion among many of my clients, patients, and friends over the role of potatoes in a healthy diet. I hear comments about how potatoes are so fattening, how they are so high in starch, how they contain as much sugar as a Tasty Cake. In short, many people see potatoes as a nutritional no-no. In fact, potatoes can most definitely be part of a healthful diet, provided a few simple caveats are kept in mind, as we’ll see below.
One thing not up for debate is potatoes’ popularity. According to the U.S. Potato Board, potatoes represent nearly half of all root crops consumed by Americans. Potatoes are the fourth largest crop overall in the U.S., after corn, wheat, and rice. In addition, potatoes can be grown in all 50 states – not to mention 125 countries throughout the world. In 1995, potatoes even became the first vegetable to be grown in space, in a collaborative project between NASA and the University of Wisconsin.
Potatoes are inexpensive. A five-pound bag costs from three to five dollars. Potatoes, with their rich, creamy texture and neutral flavor, are a cook’s delight, lending themselves to endless culinary possibilities. There are almost 100 varieties of potatoes, and many types and colors. In fact, a recent study was done on purple potatoes – a relatively new variety – and their ability to help lower blood pressure. Besides well-known types such as Russet, red, and Idaho, there are lesser-known varieties with usual names such as French Fingerling and Red Thumb.
Jews and Potatoes
Before we explore potatoes’ Jewish history, let’s look at the origins of this humble vegetable: Potatoes are native to the Andes mountains of Bolivia and Peru, where they have been cultivated for millennia. During the 16th century, potatoes were taken to Europe by Spanish explorers on their return trip home. They were brought soon to the shores of New England by those colonizing America. Since potatoes were such a hearty crop, they became a favorite food in Ireland, where they were depended on to feed a poor and rapidly growing population. The Irish Potato Famine of 1846 to 1850 tragically claimed one million lives, and spurred waves of emigration to the United States and Britain.
According to Jewish food historian Rabbi Gil Marks, author of the expansiveEncyclopedia of Jewish Food, “The white potato is now such an intrinsic part of Ashkenazic cooking that it is difficult for many to comprehend that this tuber is actually a relatively recent addition to the European and Jewish pantry.” Marks explains that the potato initially failed to gain widespread acceptance in Eastern Europe. But after a series of crop failures in Ukraine and Poland in the mid-1800s, the government ordered the peasants to plant potatoes. Since potatoes were a hardy crop that resisted disease and harsh growing conditions, they soon became a dietary staple in this region, eventually becoming more popular than buckwheat and legumes.
According to Rabbi Marks, potatoes were an inexpensive way to fill the hungry stomachs of the expanding Jewish population. Many Eastern European families ate potatoes, often with onions, three times per day. This period saw the advent of dishes as potatonik – a cross between kugel and bread. Adds Marks, “The potato latke emerged as the prototypical Ashkenazic Chanukah food, giving rise to a Yiddish saying that translates into, ‘From the lowly potato you get the tastiest pancake.’”
What’s Special about Spuds?
In light of potatoes’ lifesaving past, I would speculate that some of us are here today because our ancestors were able to escape starvation by growing and consuming potatoes. In that spirit of hakaras hatov, I am loath to condemn potatoes. But nor I would want to, from a nutrition standpoint.
According to published research cited on potatogoodness.com, potatoes provide one of the most concentrated and affordable sources of potassium. In fact, potatoes have more of this critical mineral than do foods such as bananas, oranges, and mushrooms, which are often cited for their superior potassium content. One medium potato with the skin provides 620 mg of potassium, compared to 450 mg in a banana. Among other benefits of potassium, it helps offset the negative effects of excess sodium on blood pressure.
Another standout nutritional feature of the potato is its vitamin C content, which is important for the immune system. A potato has more vitamin C than one medium tomato or sweet potato (but not more than an orange). Potatoes also contain a fair amount of vitamin B6 – important in carbohydrate and protein metabolism – and iron, a blood component that helps ensure adequate oxygen in the cells of our body.
Also worthy of mention is potatoes’ fiber content. One medium potato with the skin has two to three grams of fiber, including soluble fiber, which helps increase feelings of fullness. In an Australian study, researchers rated 38 different foods based on the degree of fullness they provided. Guess which food came out on top? Potatoes beat out a long list of runners-up, which included fish, oatmeal, oranges, pasta, steak, and baked beans.
The GI Controversy
Before we conclude that spuds are utterly spectacular from a nutrition standpoint, there is one downside: their high glycemic index (GI). To refresh your memory, the GI is the universally recognized system for classifying how different foods – especially carbohydrates – affect blood sugar levels. According to the authoritative Low GI Handbook, “The GI can help you choose both the right amount of carbohydrates and the right sort of carbohydrates, every day and every meal.”
What do the GI experts who wrote this book have to say about the potato? “You don’t need to say no to potatoes altogether just because they may have a high GI. They are…nutrient-rich and filling. Not every food you eat has to have a low GI. Enjoy them, but in moderation.”
There you have it: If your concern about potatoes is their high starch content and GI rating, take some advice from the folks who wrote the book – literally – on this topic. Here is a summary of their recommendations for potato lovers who want to enjoy the health benefits of this popular veggie while minimizing the GI downside:
1) Keep portions moderate. Limit your potato serving to the equivalent of one medium potato or one cup cooked, and have as part of a balanced meal that includes protein, fat, and low-GI veggies such as broccoli and spinach.
2) Have potatoes several times per week instead of every night or at every meal. Use lower-GI choices such as legumes, pasta, oats, or corn as your complex carb.
3) The GI response of potatoes can vary depending on the variety and cooking methods. Precooking and reheating potatoes or consuming cold cooked potatoes (such as in potato salad) reduces the GI response. In the Low GI Handbook, the authors report on research from a university in Sweden that found that preparing potatoes the day before and serving them cold as potato salad with vinegar or vinaigrette can lower the GI.
4) If you enjoy mashed potatoes, substitute half the potato content with white beans, such as cannellini (see recipe below).
5) Make potato dishes that include low-GI vegetables like cauliflower, zucchini, green beans, or broccoli (see recipes below).
6) Choose new potatoes. These are “immature” potatoes harvested during the spring or summer. They are not a variety of their own but younger versions of established varieties. New potatoes are very small in size and have thinner and flakier skin. As such, they are well-suited to boiling and roasting. Thanks to their compact starch, they retain their shape and texture. The most commonly available kind in stores is the small red potato. You can also find small finger-shaped potatoes called fingerlings that fall into the new potato category. The GI of most new potatoes is considered medium, lower than that of larger potatoes.
Potatoes Instead of Prozac?
One last health benefit of potatoes that bears mention is their potential mood-raising effect. If you want to raise your level of the feel-good hormone serotonin, try eating a small to medium-sized potato before bed. Nutrition researcher Kathleen DesMasions, author of Potatoes Not Prozac and The Sugar Addicts’ Total Recovery Program, explains that potatoes “will help your body raise your serotonin level and make you feel more confident, competent, creative, and optimistic. Big results from a single nightly spud, heh?” This is not a miracle cure for depression, but it is one of seven steps she describes in her books to help people reduce and eliminate food and sugar cravings and improve their mood.
Now on to the recipes. Don’t worry if a recipe calls for one type of potato and you only have another. I like how one blogger put it on a site called the “Cooking Dish.” Addressing the differences between the brown russet potato and the red potato, he writes: “Both types have their advantages over the other, but in the end they’re both still just good ol’ tasty spuds. They will bake, fry, mash, steam, and eventually be eaten. In other words, don’t lose sleep tonight wondering if you purchased the right ones.”
Potato and Cannellini Mash
Here’s a recipe that I modified from one inLow GI Gluten-Free Eating Made Easyby Dr. Jennie Brand-Miller.
14 to 16 oz. (one pound) small new potatoes
2 cloves garlic, peeled
14-oz. can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
2 tsp. olive oil or butter
1/4 c. hot milk (dairy or non-dairy)
sea salt and ground pepper to taste
Place potatoes and garlic cloves into a medium saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and cook for about 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Drain. When cool enough, peel the potatoes. Mash potatoes, garlic, and beans with a potato masher. Heat the oil or melt the butter in a saucepan. Add mashed mixture with milk and stir for 1 to 2 minutes until warm. Season salt and pepper to taste.
Broccoli/Potato Latkes
This recipe and the next one are adapted from the charming and informativeLowfat Jewish VegetarianCookbook by Debra Wasserman. The first offers a fresh take on the traditional latke recipe by adding broccoli and celery seed. The second is a potato kugel enhanced by the addition of cauliflower.
1 lb. fresh broccoli, properly cleaned and checked; or 16 oz. bag frozen, with proper hechsher
2 lbs. potatoes, scrubbed and cubed into small pieces
1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
3 c. water
1/2 tsp. celery seed
salt and pepper to taste
1 to 2 T. light olive oil or grape seed oil
Cook all ingredients (except oil) in a large covered pot over medium heat for 20 minutes. Drain mixture. Mash ingredients together. Heat oil in large non-stick frying pan or griddle. Form into 10 pancakes. Fry 8 minutes on one side. Flip and cook 5 minutes on the other side. Serve warm.
Potato/Cauliflower Kugel
6 medium potatoes, peeled and grated
2 onions, peeled and grated
10 to 12 oz. package frozen cauliflower, cooked and mashed
1/2 c. whole grain flour (wheat, Kamut, spelt or gluten-free blend)
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. sea salt
1/4 tsp. pepper or Mrs. Dash Table Blend (which has a pepper-dominant taste)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients together in large bowl. Pour into a lightly oiled baking pan (8x8” Pyrex dish) and bake one hour until brown. Serve warm.
Old- Fashioned Potato Salad with a New Twist
It seems the idea of serving a potato salad cold with vinaigrette has been around for a while. According to The Encyclopedia of Jewish Food, the dish became popular in the nineteenth century but was mentioned in writings back to 1633. Rabbi Marks writes, “German Jews served potato salad cold on the Sabbath, a practice that later became widespread among American Jews and Israelis.” This recipe has been adapted from the classic Jewish cookbook Spice and Spirit. The zucchini, string beans, olives, and red peppers add pizazz to the salad, both in taste and color.
8 medium potatoes, unpeeled
4 medium zucchini
1 lb. green beans, cut into 1/2 inch slices, or 16 oz. bag frozen cut green beans
1/2 c. olives chopped or sliced
1/2 c. of red pepper, diced
Dressing
1 small red onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced or 2 tsp. crushed garlic
1/4 c. mild tasting oil such as light olive oil or grape seed oil
1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil
1/4 to 1/3 c. vinegar (red wine or apple cider)
1/2 to 1 tsp. sea salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
Place unpeeled potatoes into a 4-quart pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and cook until just tender, about 40 minutes. Remove skins and cut into large cubes. Wash zucchini and cube. Place in another pot with the green beans. Add 1 inch water and bring to a boil. Simmer 5 minutes until tender-crisp. Drain immediately. Combine potatoes, zucchini, and beans. Combine salad dressing ingredients in a jar and pour over the salad. Toss. Add olives and red pepper. Chill and serve the next day for Shabbos lunch.
Crockpot (Slow-Cooker) Baked potatoes
Potatoes at their simplest and, arguably, their tastiest. I found this idea on the About.com Southern Food website and also in the Fix-It and Forget-it Lightlycookbook by Phyllis Pellman Good.
6 to 10 potatoes or as many as will easily fit into your slow cooker
foil for wrapping potatoes, or cooking spray
Prick potatoes with a fork. Either wrap each potato in foil or coat each potato with the cooking spray. Fill the dry slow cooker with the potatoes. Cover and cook on high for 3 to 4 hours or low for 8 to 10 hours. Prick with a fork to check for doneness.
Lauren Mirkin, CNS, LDN, LGPC, is a licensed nutritionist and counselor. She provides nutritional counseling at the Johns Hopkins Integrative Medicine and Digestive Center at Green Spring Station. Contact her at 443-326-7023 or holisticnutritionhelp@gmail.com.
