Celebrating the splendid spud during National Potato Month
Jodi Davis
| 3 min read
Please join me today as I take a few moments to honor the almighty potato!
In fact, why not celebrate the splendid spud for the entire month; after all, September is National Potato Month! Americans from coast to coast will be giving a bit more attention to one of their favorite vegetables, the potato, and with good reason: Potatoes taste great and can benefit your health too.
Were you aware that just one single baked potato can provide almost 12% of the daily recommended amount of fiber? It’s true, plus potatoes are considered a rich source of vitamins and minerals, containing less than .1 gram of fat and not a bit of cholesterol! We obviously love them since each person consumes approximately 126 pounds per year… that’s a lot of “taters!”
Below are just some of the health benefits of this month’s honored vegetable:
- Potatoes are a great source of both soluble and insoluble fiber.
- The fiber content aids in slow digestion starch and the absorption of simple sugars, thus this can help keep blood sugar levels within the normal range.
- Potatoes are one of the richest sources of B-complex group of vitamins such as vitamin B6, thiamin, niacin, pantothenic acid and folates.
- A potato along with its skin is good source of vitamin-C.
- Potatoes contain essential minerals like Iron, manganese, magnesium, phosphorous, copper and potassium.
- Red and russet potatoes contain good amount vitamin A, as well as carotenes.
There are many ways to prepare a potato: skin-on or peeled, whole or cut up, with seasonings or without. The majority of potato dishes are served hot, but some are first cooked then served cold, such as potato salad. Hey, that sounds pretty tasty to me right now. I think I’ll be making this recipe today!
Ingredients
3 pound(s) Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
1 1/4 teaspoon(s) salt
1/4 tablespoon(s) coarsely ground black pepper
3/4 cup(s) buttermilk
1/4 cup(s) light mayonnaise
2 tablespoon(s) snipped fresh dill
2 tablespoon(s) cider vinegar
1 tablespoon(s) Dijon mustard
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1 1/4 teaspoon(s) salt
1/4 tablespoon(s) coarsely ground black pepper
3/4 cup(s) buttermilk
1/4 cup(s) light mayonnaise
2 tablespoon(s) snipped fresh dill
2 tablespoon(s) cider vinegar
1 tablespoon(s) Dijon mustard
2 green onions, thinly sliced
Directions
In 4-quart saucepan, combine potatoes, 1 teaspoon salt, and enough water to cover; heat to boiling on high. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer 10 minutes or until potatoes are just fork-tender.
Meanwhile, in large bowl, whisk buttermilk with mayonnaise, dill, vinegar, Dijon, green onions, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper.
Drain potatoes well. Toss hot potatoes with buttermilk mixture until coated. (Mixture will look very loose before chilling.) Cover and refrigerate potato salad at least 2 hours (or overnight) in order for flavors to blend and to cool slightly, stirring gently after 1 hour.
Meanwhile, in large bowl, whisk buttermilk with mayonnaise, dill, vinegar, Dijon, green onions, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper.
Drain potatoes well. Toss hot potatoes with buttermilk mixture until coated. (Mixture will look very loose before chilling.) Cover and refrigerate potato salad at least 2 hours (or overnight) in order for flavors to blend and to cool slightly, stirring gently after 1 hour.
Do you have any healthy potato recipes that you would like to share?
Photo credit: Buzz Hoffman
