Are Potatoes Considered Part of a Healthy Diet?

In this article, we'll explain how you should cook potatoes so that you can enjoy them and continue to eat a healthy diet at the same time.

Potatoes are healthy for some and harmful to others. The reality is that we don’t have to be that radical because potatoes are a very beneficial food that can be included in any healthy diet.

To prove this to you, below, we’re going to discuss all of the beneficial properties that potatoes have. Moreover, we’re going to review the different ways of cooking potatoes and indicate which are the healthiest methods.

Potatoes and a healthy lifestyle: are they compatible?

Potatoes have always been one of the most controversial foods for just about every weight loss and healthy diet plan ever made. That’s why when people want to eat a balanced meal, they have doubts about whether they should eat them or not.

The truth is that potatoes are a food that must be present in any meal plan because they contain a large number of nutritional properties. Some of them are high in fiber, potassium, iron or vitamins groups B and D.

The only thing to keep in mind is that their nutritional properties change dramatically depending on how you cook them. That’s why we must pay special attention to the way we cook potatoes. Now, let’s look at the healthiest cooking methods so that you’ll know what to do and how to do it.

How to incorporate potatoes into a healthy diet

1. Cooked

Cooked potatoes are one of the most common ways to consume them. They go hand in hand with vegetables.

For this cooking method, you should know that you should cook them whole and without peeling them. That way, they’ll retain their properties better, since the skin fulfills a protective function.

2. Roasted

Roasted potatoes are a perfect accompaniment to meat or fish dishes. They’re also an excellent substitute for french fries.

A straightforward recipe is to cut them in the same way as if we were to fry them and spread them over an oven plate. Sprinkle a little salt, spices and add a little oil. The result will be crispy and tasty potatoes, which will make you forget all about french fries.

How to not consume potatoes

Just as we’ve already commented, you can’t generalize potatoes when talking about eating a healthy diet. And, this is because they change radically depending on how you prepare them.

If before, we’ve proposed several ways to cook potatoes, now we’ll do the opposite. Take note and discover how not to cook potatoes if you want to keep eating a healthy diet.

1. Adding sauces

It’s no use cooking potatoes the healthy way, as we’ve just mentioned above if you’re going to add ketchup or mayonnaise afterward. It’s ill-advised to eat sauces every day, they have a large number of poor quality fats, and high sugar and salt content.

If you’re a fan of sauces, we suggest that you make them yourself. Here are some recipes that you should consume in moderation in order to continue eating a healthy diet.

2. French fries

French fries are one of the most popular ways to eat fries and, at the same time, one of the least healthy ways to eat them. Potatoes are very porous, so they absorb large amounts of oil during their cooking process. That’s why you shouldn’t eat them if you intend on having a healthy diet.

Besides, we should always bear in mind that some sort of sauce usually accompanies fries. This makes them even less healthy.

Conclusion

Regarding the question we raised at the beginning of this text, the answer would be a resounding yes. Of course, you can eat potatoes and keep a healthy diet. You just have to take into account the cooking method, since, depending on how you cook them, their properties will change dramatically.

With ideas such as baking potatoes, you’ll be able to replace the less healthy options with much more recommendable ones. Thus, you can maintain a balanced, varied, and healthy diet without any problems.