potato, potato

Been thinking about potatoes lately. newbie and HGR have both gone on the potato diet, in which you can eat all the potatoes you want (with seasoning and sour cream, debatably cheese) but nothing else. I’m not one for fad diets. But the two of them have been talking about potatoes constantly, and it’s got me thinking I could definitely use more potatoes in my life.

Benefits of potatoes:

• They’re bulky and satisfying while being much less caloric than other similarly-filling foods. This is the crux of the diet.
• They’re less processed than all the usual junk I eat.
• They’re cheap. A 2.5-pound bag of chicken strips is $12. A 5-pound bag of russet potatoes is less than $3.
• They’re great. newbie says one of the big pros of the potato diet is that, at the end, people are like “yeah, I still love potatoes.” (Contrast: A few years back, John and Alice did a cabbage diet. That sounds absolutely miserable.)

So yeah, I’m going to be eating a bunch of potatoes, in solidarity or something.

The BB household are not potato fans. Over Christmas, BB enjoyed Mom’s mashed potatoes. So brother made him a whole bunch. Then BB decided he didn’t like mashed potatoes any more (toddler classix). Brother and his wife ate some, but they weren’t into it either, so they ended up throwing out a bunch…oof. I would’ve eaten it. I’ve never made mashed potatoes, but I’m getting a potato masher in my next grocery load (hype?).

My go-to easy potato prep: 

1. Wash potatoes. Poke holes in them with a fork, then microwave for 5-8 minutes (depending on number/size of potatoes).
2. Slice into wedges.
3. In a bag, mix olive oil, salt, pepper, cajun seasoning, and garlic powder.
4. Put the potato wedges in the bag and toss to coat.
5. Air fry the wedges at 375 degrees for 7 minutes. (Alternately, you can pan-fry them for crispier potatoes. This is more effort so I usually don’t.)