Spoonful of Sugar Free

Registered Dietitian

Eat the Rainbow-in Potatoes

By

Remember when I said I ate a purple sweet potato?

Well, here is my lovely new friend:

Purple Sweet Potato smothered with almond butter!

Potatoes sometimes get a bad rep for being full of carbs, but they have good benefits, too!

  • They are full of fiber and are extremely filling (1 large potato contains 7 grams of fiber)
  • The carbohydrates are a great source of energy
  • Contain vitamins B and C-complex to help aid in the absorption of the carbohydrates
  • Contains good amounts of potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, and zinc
  • It can help relieve inflammation of the digestive track

Sweet Potatoes are also great! Personally, I think they taste better, too!

  • One of the best sources of Beta-Carotene. This pre-vitamin to vitamin A prevent night blindness and other eye problems, skin disorders, enhance immunity, protects against toxins and cancer formations, colds, flu, and infections. It is an antioxidant and protector of the cells while slowing the aging process.
  • A great source of vitamin C, manganese, potassium, and copper.
  • Only 100 calories for a medium sweet potato, 4 grams of fiber, and 2 grams of protein.

Above all, potatoes are Cheap! You can buy a whole bag of potatoes for only a few dollars. What a great source of inexpensive energy!

Potatoes don’t only come in white, though, they come in all sorts of rainbow colors!

Red


Orange


Yellow


Green


Blue


Purple

There are so many things you can make with potatoes, too:

  • Mashed Potatoes (Boil potatoes until soft, and then mash with fork and add butter and milk)
  • Twice Baked Potatoes
  • Potato Chips (Slice Thinly and bake on sheet at 375*)
  • Latkes
  • Gnocci

Thought-provoking, mind-prodding question of the day:

What is your favorite way to eat potatoes? Also, do you prefer sweet potatoes or regular potatoes? I love all potatoes, but sweet potatoes are my favorite. My crazy little brother doesn’t like potatoes! Can you believe that boy?

Also, how do you remember the colors of the rainbow? There are so many rhymes out there, but I remember it by the song I sang in my elementary music class, “Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple makes the rainbow bright! Bright! Bright!” Of course, ROY G BIV helps me, too!

Shout out to my potato-loving friend, Kelsey:

She ate 7 potatoes in one sitting! You go, girl!

 

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. I really enjoy most potatoes. Red – mashed. Golden – grilled with onions & dressing. Sweet – baked and topped with cinnamon. Standard bakers – roasted with olive oil and Rosemary. They’re all delicious.

  3. Love me some potatoes. I’ve only seen the white and sweet varieties at my grocery stores. I’m guessing you have to go to more specialty markets to get the more unique colors?

    Lately I’ve been into oven-baking my sweet potatoes. Novel concept, I know. But I used to ding-dong them all the time. I didn’t know what I was missing!

  5. Thanks SO much for linking me! every time I see a pinback, I get kind of giddy inside!
    As I’m sure you know, I love me some potatoes. I too doing eat wheat because of some issued I have with digestion, so I rely on them for my carb source! they are so versatile! I even use them in desserts!

  6. Hmmm. I am pretty much a lover of all potatoes. I love Yukon Gold because they’re so creamy. I love red potatoes for boiling, I love Russet potatoes for baking. I adore sweet potatoes in just about anything, plain, mashed, baked, turned into fries. I really just love ’em all, though I’ve never tried purple before!

  7. I don’t like regular potatoes, because the texture is mushy and I think they have no flavor.

    However, i find sweet ptoatoes to be one of the greatest foods there is. I like them mashed with sweet curry spices! Either that, or ketchup.

    Cute post, too- I like the potato rainbow.

  8. GAHH! GREEN AND BLUE POTATOES?! I’m intrigued! The blue ones are so beautiful!!!

    I’ve never tried purple ones before, but they look so good! And I prefer sweet potatoes by a land-slide- preferably roasted or mashed. As for the colors, I remember it all just by picturing a rainbow in my mind 😛 Weird, huh?

  9. You know….If I am gonna be honest with myself my favorite way to eat the potatoes are the ones that come in Terra Chips!

    Sweet Tater fries make #2,

    ~Missy

  10. I love carbs! I don’t really love potatoes. They’re ok. I do really love sweet potatoes though. The best way to eat them is to slice them thin, then either drizzle maple syrup over the slices or add a bunch of butter and brown sugar, once they are coated in deliciousness stick them in the oven. They taste like candy. Yum! Do you eat honey? I feel like honey would work.

  12. I LOVE all your colorful potato pics!

    I had a purple sweet potato earlier this year and I loved them.

    xo

  13. I absolutely LOVE purple potatoes. I only like the ones that you find at the asian markets though – they are so sweet, I love eating them just by themselves. I’ve never seen a green potato before. I’ll have to add that to my list of new foods to try. I recently tried a red yam from the asian market and it was absolutely delicious. It was red on the outside and white on the inside, but super sweet. I wish I could describe the flavor – it was delicious.

  14. I love regular potatoes, but I’m not a big fan of sweet potatoes. I’m sure finding a purple sweet potato would change my mind though… 😉

  16. 7 potatoes in one sitting… that’s kind of gross.. haha

    I LOVE sweet potatoes and yams (especially Japanese sweet potatoes). Roasted in the oven is beyond delicious.