Hard though it might be, if circumstances demand that you spend less money on food then potatoes might be the answer. Buy a lot of potatoes, learn how to cook them in lots of different ways and eat potatoes every day. Would a potato-only diet be good for you? Obviously not. But a potato-only diet for a month won't affect your health negatively in any way.
I love potatoes, but I do no think that I could live on them for a month even if I fixed them in different ways. I do try to have them a few times a week because the kids love to eat them too and they are filling. Sometimes, it is nice to have other side dishes with dinner instead of potatoes. I can see how this would save you money if you buy them when they are on sale and stock up on them.
Bearing in that even though there has been a fair amount of research done on potatoes and they have been found to provide a wider range of amino acids, vitamins and minerals than other starchy foods, such as pasta or rice - as the human body needs over 40 nutrients along with a wide range of amino acids, minerals, fats and proteins in order to function correctly and potatoes along with any other single vegetable or food - have not been found to provide all the necessary nutrients that the body needs on their own - and it is therefore why - in order to be healthy - its recommended that our diet contains a wide variety of foods from all food groups. My thoughts are - that although eating nothing but potatoes for a month - providing you and especially your kidneys were healthy enough to cope with the potassium overload - probably wouldn't do much harm - other than make you marginally deficient in various vitamins, minerals, fats and proteins. If doing this to save money - I honestly don't think its worth it - as not only would eating plain potatoes with no added ingredients for a month be extremely monotonous, however they were prepared - but more importantly - there is absolutely no reason to sacrifice your health by missing out on valuable nutrients - when there are better alternatives for the same cost - for example - as pulses also have equally high nutritional value - I think it more preferable to add in some dried beans, chickpeas, lentils or seasonal vegetables such as carrots or greens - to the potatoes. Especially as - not only would doing that provide the body with more of the nutrients that it needs to keep it healthy - but as all are extremely inexpensive and very economical - in the sense - that just one pack of dried beans, lentils or chickpeas - even though really, really cheap - will make numerous very substantial, tasty, nutritionally balanced meals for a family of four - for little to no extra cost - that to me would be the better option.
When I was in high school, I remember my father's friend who dropped by the house. He was talking with my mother about dieting and he was suggesting potato. That root crop, he said, is much better than rice or even bread. It was a good timing because that was the time when there was a rice shortage and we were eating mostly alternatives like corn, potato, sweet potato and sometimes plantain. Hmm, maybe that guy is right that the potato is a good food for nutrients... and cheap too.
Are we talking about the sweet potatoes or just regular potatoes? I have been cutting out all sugar for months now, and so I don't really like to eat anything with a lot of carbs in them, or if I do eat carbs, I like to keep it to a minimum. With sweet potatoes, there has got to be sugar in it. But I would like to know if they have more carbs in them than regular potatoes.
They're talking about regular potatoes. They are high in carbs but its good carbs, The kind that your body easily converts into energy. Theses are the carbs you want and need. The whole thing about carbs being bad is a straight myth. There are good carbs and bad carbs. I don't like the taste of potatoes but I try to make them in ways that I can tolerate them. I have seen a noticeable difference in my nails specifically. I actually would prefer eating them raw and thinly sliced in a salad. They actually taste good that way to me. Sweet Potatoes are still good and yes they do have sugar and are in fact a bit lower in carbs than regular potatoes. You can get an even more comprehensive breakdown at precisionnutrtion.com that will explain to you how the carbs and sugar in both sweet potatoes and white potatoes actually work.
I would go crazy in about 2 days if I had to eat potatoes over and over again. Sure, there is so much that you can do with potatoes and they go with everything, so if I were running such an experiment, I would buy less of say the chicken or tuna or whatever and use more of potatoes - I am fine with that. But, consuming potatoes and potatoes alone would be really tough.
Truthfully I've come close to doing this but not by choice but economics. Being young and broke brings out a fearlessness that's history by 40. I guess if I had a goal in mind and wanted to cut way back on groceries.
I love potatoes and cook with them regularly. I make home fries for breakfast regularly, to go along with my eggs, and I almost always have some sort of potato with my meal for dinner, but they can also be a great option for lunch - such as pairing them with a salad. Even better is when you eat the skin, since it contains even more nutrients and fiber. They're a great option when you are eating on a budget because not only are they filling and nutritious, but they are also very inexpensive. I can usually get a 5lb bag of them for under $1.99, sometimes as low as 99 cents. In fact, there is a new variety of potatoes which just came out a couple years ago called Butter Russets, which have a naturally buttery taste and hue, without the need for adding real butter. They bake up and fry up really nicely too. They make incredible mashed potatoes and home fries, but are fantastic just as a baked potato. The texture is similar to a russet, maybe not quite as starchy, but they have a nice golden hue like a yukon gold, without the waxi-ness and overly sweet taste. I like the hue of yukon golds and klondike potatoes, but don't care for their sweetness. I also don't like how they become kind of slimy when you try to fry them up as home fries, or make mashed potatoes with them. I didn't read the original posters intent as eating potatoes solely, but rather incorporating them more into your overall diet for health and to save money. You could easily prepare a healthy meal by simply baking the potatoes, and topping it with healthy options such as a lean chili. Plus since potatoes are so filling, they help you feel more satisfied from your meals and less inclined to snack in between them.
Thank you for the response and for the information I still see potatoes - the regular ones - as a food that I should and will avoid in the future, as the carbohydrates in them will convert into sugar eventually, which is not good for my digestive system or body at the moment. I have gone brown with most of the things that I have been eating. Brown rice, pasta, and sweet potatoes instead of regular ones. Sweet potatoes have sugar in them, but are lower in carbs. They have overall better nutrients for my needs though.
In as much as I love potatoes prepared in various ways, I couldn't live solely on them for even a week! Like other posters have said, as nutritious as they are, a sustained potato diet would mean you're missing out on vital nutrients. I'd also get bored very quickly. Knowing that i couldn't have anything outside of potatoes would seriously do my head in. It's not just with potatoes though. I just can't do diets because of their restrictive nature. Once I know I'm not allowed certain food groups, i seem to crave them more.
It is no secret that people love potatoes for their delicious taste and low cost. I am reminded of a story I heard one time that there was a potluck dinner, and no one was told what to bring, and so there were 27 dishes containing potatoes in some form on the table!. That story is just crazy enough to be true! All hail potatoes. Sadly, I am dieting right now, and they aren't on the list, but at some point I am sure they will re emerge.
Well I think that if this were the case I might be in luck, because I do happen to love potatoes, but then again I would probably start to get really sick of them for every meal so it might not be the best thing. I would have to think that any diet surrounding one food as the main source for all nutrients is probably not a good idea, but on paper it does make sense. I would be interested to see some studies out there for what would actually happen.
Well, if you are constantly eating sweet potatoes then you are getting most of the nutrients. Well, not most, but a large coverage of essential nutrients that the body needs. I had no idea that sweet potatoes were the most nutritious vegetable out there before now. They are great for fiber too, which I need a lot of in my diet. But I agree that it would get boring eating the same thing over and over again. One of the most difficult things about diet is maintaining variety.
You do realise some of us basically already do this? Jacket potato for lunch, chips for dinner. I'd say probably 50% plus of my diet is potato. I do eat some meat and veg too, but potatoes are the staple by far.
Oddly enough, An investigative reporting program had a person on who had a food fetish. Eating french fries was the only thing she would eat. And her bloodwork was normal!! Plus her weight was too...you would think eating french fries all the time she would be deficient in some nutrients..but apparently it was all working out. I mean what about vitamin B? and iron?
Well, she must be using ketchup at some point which would explain away requirements for certain vitamins. Also, salt has sodium, iron and calcium. She must be drinking something too. Even regular water has some minerals, but if she was drinking something other than that, she could have been getting Vitamin B(all of the constituent B family members that way.
I have to say I don't really know much about the nutritional value of sweet potatoes, but even still, i'm not a huge fan of them enough to keep eating them over and over again. I mean, I even get bored of eating my favourite food items. The only thing I seem to be able to eat regularly and not get fed up with is Nandos haha It just never seems to get old and tried for me
Hmmm... To be honest, I've never heard of anyone living off of a potato-only based diet although I do think it can be possibly done. I've read about a woman who eats just bananas for a day, even during her pregnancy. And it's quite a relief to know that she gave birth to a healthy baby. So thinking about that, I have no doubt that living off of potatoes for a month would not do so much harm. Of course, our bodies still need the nutrients from other foods though, and we'd still need to eat other sources of these nutrients. As for me, I love potatoes but I don't think I can eat them everyday. As a staple, we have rice with some viands. Maybe if it is potatoes with some viands, that can work for me. But as far as eating it on its own, I might easily get tired of it. But that's just me.
