Nutrition Facts
If you’re looking for a quick fix, pre-made potato salads are often offered at your supermarket’s deli counter, but not so fast! Those versions can have more than 300 calories and 20 grams of fat per serving (and we’d bet most folks don’t stick to a small serving). Homemade recipes, meanwhile, often call for at least one cup of mayonnaise — that’s 920 calories and 80 grams of fat right there! It’s not the potatoes that make that tally go up; though they are a starchy vegetable, a half cup of cooked potato has 65 calories and no fat. Of course, starchy veggies can cause a rapid spike in your blood sugar, but when they’re combined with other fiber-rich foods, blood sugar levels stay more stable and you stay more satisfied.

The Lighter Side of Potato Salad
When making salad, take advantage of sturdy potatoes. They can stand up to lots of extra veggies like green beans, tomatoes, celery, peas, carrots, bell pepper and red onion. The more veggies you add, the heartier your salad and more full of nutrients. Chopped pickles and olives also add a nice bite of vinegar. Also, try keeping the skin on the potatoes — they contain tons of nutrients like hunger-fighting fiber.

For a more substantial meal, you might consider adding a lean protein like crabmeat, tuna or beans — this will make for a hearty salad with less calories.

You can also mix it up with your potato choices. Sweet potatoes are just as delicious in potato salad and come with the added bonus of beta-carotene. Even though sweet potatoes are higher in natural sugars than white potatoes, they contain more soluble fiber so they increase blood sugar less.

As for the dressings, mayo is the old standby, but who needs it? Swap out some or all for a flavorful vinaigrette, pesto sauce, sundried tomatoes, Dijon mustard or lots of fresh herbs. When I’m in the mood for a traditional creamy texture, I find a combo of mayonnaise and low-fat yogurt will give me all the flavor with much less fat. If you can’t go without the mayo, here’s a good rule of thumb: stick to no more than 1 tablespoon per serving.

Recipes to try:
• King Crab Potato Salad
• Creamy Potato Salad
• Pesto Potato Salad
• Roasted Sweet Potato and Green Onion Salad
• Potato Salad (shown above)
• Chopped Nicoise Salad

Get the recipe »

(P.S.: Dana talked about faux frying yesterday — this recipe is another lighter french fry alternative.)

Nutritional Info
A medium potato contains 160 calories with no fat or cholesterol. It also has 5 grams of fiber, 3/4 your daily vitamin C needs, 1/4 your daily potassium needs (more than banananas even) and a slew of B-vitamins. Many of these nutrients, including fiber and a bit of iron, come from the skin — next time you cook up a baked potato, don’t just scrape out the center.

Potatoes have a bad rap because they’re a starchy veggie. Starch is a complex carbohydrate that’s made up of glucose (the building block of carbohydrates), and glucose is the primary source of energy for the brain. Unlike complex carbs, simple carbohydrates — soda, candy, cakes and other junkie foods — have little or no nutritional value other than their calories. Those are the foods you need to be careful of.

More Spud For Your Buck
I said these tubers were budget-friendly, and it’s true! According to the U.S. Potato Board, a medium (5.3 ounce) potato will only set you back around $0.25 and is one of the best values in your produce department. Plus, they keep well for long period (see below) — making them perfect for stocking up when there’s a sale on.

Starch Makes a Difference
Most grocery stores carry a few types of potatoes — usually, you’ll find russet, fingerling and yukon gold but many more exist. Look for new varieties at your local farmers’ market or a roadside produce stand. Potato skins can be brown, white, red, yellow or even purple. The flesh can be white, yellow, pink, blue or purple. Starch content depends on the type of potato, and that also affects how you cook them.

One common variety, fingerlings, are low in starch. They have a firm, waxy texture that’s great for dishes that require the potato to retain its full shape and not be chopped or mashed. I roast mine as a side dish for fish or steak. They’re also a great addition to soups and stews.

Yukon gold potatoes have a medium starch content and become moist when baked. Use these for mashing, hash brown or potato pancakes (my favorite).

Russet potatoes range from a medium to high starch content and are best for old fashioned mashed potatoes, french fries or baked fries.

Cooking with Potatoes
Many people forget that potatoes are a good thickening agent. Trade the heavy cream (full of artery-clogging fat) you use for thicker soups with pureed potatoes.

Mashed potatoes are another one of my faves, but I keep the skin on when preparing it. I also eat the skin of my baked potatoes — like I said, many of the nutrients are there and it adds a nice texture to your meal.
While potatoes do have a lot of vitamin C, you easily destroy it when prepping and cooking them. Leaving the skin on prevents the potato flesh from being exposed to the air (and depleting your nutrients). Cutting the potato into larger chunks also helps maintain the vitamins.

Storage Tips
Store your potatoes in a cool, dry, dark place for up to 5 months — ideally between 45-50°F. If you keep them in the fridge (below 41°F), they can lose their starch content and become sweeter.

When growing your own or buying from a farmer, keep an eye out for any green spots. These discolored portions are toxic (the potato plant is, too). If you find a spot, just cut it off. Sometimes your spuds might sprout, too. This is a sign that the potato is trying to grow — cut off these offshoots before cooking or eating. Storing the potatoes in a well-ventilated place reduces sprouting.

Recipes to try:
• Creamy Potato Salad
• Rosti Potatoes with Ham and Cheese
• Oven Fries
• Baked Potato with Creamy Herb Topping
• Dill Fingerling Potatoes (shown above)

It All Adds Up
First, the bad news: a serving of traditional mashed potatoes can have up to 400 calories. Many calories come from the added butter and heavy cream. One tablespoon of stick butter contains 102 calories — 64% of the calories are from fat. Many recipes use a whole stick for just 6 servings. Do the math — you’re really weighing down that side!

As for heavy cream, a tablespoon is 50 calories; 94% of those calories coming from fat. Traditional recipes call for about 1/2 cup of heavy cream — that’s around 200 extra fat calories on top of the butter.

Easy Swaps
There are several routes to take to lower those calories and keep your potatoes moist. First, use less butter or a butter substitute. Try using half the amount of butter and choose whipped butter instead of stick. There are many low or no-calorie butter alternatives in your market.

You can also use low-sodium chicken (or veggie) broth. Not sure the ratio to try? Check out this Ellie Krieger recipe.

For the heavy cream, even moving to regular (whole) milk will cut the fat significantly. A 1/2 cup of whole milk contains 75 calories — that’s a savings of 125 calories! Try going for the 1% milk and you will save even more — each cup has around 105 calories.

You might also want to experiment with reduced-fat sour cream or cottage cheese to replace the milk. The ratios differ depending on how starchy your potatoes are and your texture preference, so follow recipes or test variations.

Bring On The Flavor
Add some personality to your potatoes with low-calorie herbs, spices and veggies. Chives, basil, onion and garlic really add a fresh kick (I’m making myself hungry!). Or sprinkle a touch of a strongly flavored cheese such as Parmesan or tangy goat cheese.

You can also swap the traditional russet potato for a Yukon gold or sweet potato (that’s my favorite). Keep the potato skins on for some extra fiber. Doctor up mashed sweet potatoes with cinnamon and nutmeg or with a touch of orange zest. Replace some of the potato with root veggies. Or be adventurous and go for mashed cauliflower (yeah, yeah, we know, that’s not mashed potatoes).

Recipes to try:
• Parmesan Mashed Potatoes
• Smashed Potatoes with Sour Cream and Chives
• Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Orange Essence
• Mashed Roots with Buttermilk and Chives

READ MORE:
• Chicken Pot Pie, Lightened Up
• Lasagna, Lightened Up
• Cheesecake, Lightened Up

TELL US: What’s your secret to lighter mashed potatoes?

Hanukkah is my favorite Jewish holiday — all the lights, songs, presents, parties and, of course, fried foods. Every night we light candles, sing together and then snack on the Hanukkah classic, fried latkes (potato pancakes). Eating lots of fried foods can surely lead to holiday weight gain, but there are ways to indulge in these favorites without increasing your waistline.

Latkes are traditionally made by mixing grated potatoes and onions, eggs and matzo meal or flour. Then they’re formed into “pancakes” and deep fried, and served with sour cream, horseradish or applesauce.

One simple substitution is to use egg substitutes instead of fresh eggs in the batter. You could also cut down the amount of potatoes in the batter and add in parsnips, squash or carrots instead. Skip the traditional frying, and instead form the uncooked cakes, spray them with canola oil and bake at 450 degrees Fahrenheit until golden brown.

If you just can’t live without that traditional fried flavor, decrease your portion sizes. Create smaller-sized latkes and eat one or two with 1-2 tablespoons of applesauce, horseradish or plain Greek yogurt. Stay away from the regular sour cream as it adds unnecessary calories, fat and cholesterol.