Fear of the tuber

I think potatoes get a bad rap.

Maybe it's because people love fried potatoes, or maybe because they are so scrumptious and people can't control themselves from eating many many many servings of those oh so delicious, starch infused tubers.

Ever since I could walk, potatoes were my best friend. My grandparents always had a house full of potatoes, rarely would they buy them. My grandfather, a local mechanic, would often be paid or thanked in rations of fruits and vegetables from local farms from the Coachella Valley. The potato sacks would sit behind the kitchen door, waiting to be cooked for breakfast, steamed for lunch or chopped for dinner.

I would sit on the sack of potatoes, with my teddy bear and watch my grandmother cook. As a toddler, I would sit there for hours until discovered by my uncle Felipito (the eldest) who would yell for me to get out of the kitchen. I would go back to my sacred secret spot once he went outside to help my grandpa work on cars.

As the years passed, I no longer sit on the sack of potatoes but still buy them by the sack....when they are on sale for $1/10 lb bag.

I thought about this story as I prepared to make a cauliflower and potato baked soup (oh the things I find on Pinterest).

It's a challenge to find health food articles that don't shun potatoes. I find plenty of recipes and articles on Runners World and other endurance nutrition sites but potatoes and their starch and carb components don't seem to bode well for those just trying to shed pounds (why doesn't anyone talk about how much Vitamin C a potato holds?). Although there are plenty of places that will try to tell me that potatoes are the devil...I have to remind myself that I am a runner and they indeed work for me. We're going to stay friends.

As for the potato/cauliflower baked puree/soup-well it's just fabulous and didn't need any butter! I got the recipe from SkinnyTaste.com and only substituted out a few ingredients. You know the trick to not overeating this amazing dish? To buy serving size dishes. The bowl I posted is 1 cup (yes I measured it). Eating slow also makes for a more satiated appetite.

Apparently it is a weight watchers recipe:

2 russet potatoes, washed and dried

1 small head of cauliflower, stem removed cut into florets

1 1/2 cups fat free chicken broth

1 1/2 cups 1% reduced-fat milk

salt and freshly cracked black pepper

1/2 cup light sour cream (I used coconut milk instead)

10 tbsp reduced-fat shredded sharp cheddar cheese (I mixed the cheeses-sharp cheddar, pepper jack and queso fresco)

6 tbsp chopped chives, divided

3 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled (you can use turkey bacon if you prefer)-I didn't use any bacon

Find out more at http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/02/baked-potato-soup.html. Happy healthy eating!