As a French Canadian, I can assure you that with the right toppings you can without a doubt eat enough potatoes to reach insane amounts of calories. Granted, we put gravy and cheese on top and consider it a base for the actual toppings.

https://www.geeksaresexy.net/2013/02/05/poutinevilles-heart-...

Thank you. Potatoes get such a bad reputation as a staple.

I think it has to do with the fact that there’s zero marketing budget for a food sold for $1/kg and, like anything else, can be prepared in a healthy way or horribly unhealthy way.

Well, I'd say it comes down to the fact that most potato preparations are horribly unhealthy.

Not the potato's fault, just the meals that surround it. Probably the only tradition potato prep that has a chance of being sort of healthy is mashed potatoes. Even then, those often get loaded up with milk, butter, and gravy.

Take rice on the opposite end. Just as unhealthy as potatoes yet a ton of traditional rice meals are super healthy.

Simple boiled potatoes, especially fresh ones, are delicious, with a little piece of butter. They have delicate flavor. However, nobody likes them in the US... potatos have to be at least deep fried and better yet dipped into some crap. Reminds me of when I was in Munich with some American friends and they thought pork (and potatoes etc.) were flavorless... it just had the flavor of pork :)

I feel like the worst parts of the US diet are not the staples or the meats or anything like that, it's all the additions - too much butter, ketchup, dressings, syrups, sauces, cheeses, added bread (crusts, buns and crumbs) etc. on everything. When your taste buds are nuked by this stuff all the time it's hard to appreciate subtle flavors.

I cube them, boil them, and eat them with mustard or hot sauce. Even with ketchup isn’t that bad. Or I toss them into a soup or stir fry.

Mash potatoes involve peeling them. That’s a waste of time and nutrients.

Call me crazy, I like the skin on in mashed potatoes. I think it adds to the flavor.

I think that depends on the potatoes. On some it'll feel like you're just chewing on and swallowing paper.

Not crazy at all because I also like the skin on a mashed potatoes

same. unfortunately my wife and now the kids do not :-(

Potatoes have among the highest possible satiety values.

If plane, you basically can’t over eat them. You be full quickly.

They are 60-80% starch (carbs) by dry weight. They have a bad reputation for a reason.

That’s right up there with anything plant based (e.g. broccoli, chickpeas or kale)

Unlike broccoli or kale, potatoes have way lower vitamin and fiber content. Unlike chickpeas, potatoes have way lower protein content.

I feel like I'm in some kind of twilight zone with fifteen HNers attacking me for saying a pretty much accepted truth about potatoes (that it is an extremely starch-rich vegetable that's fairly low in other nutrients). I don't understand the reason for this. Is everyone here on a potato diet?

I think it's more that we're talking about obesity. You might not be the most nourished person in the world but noone is obese from eating too many potatoes, you get obese eating pure sugars and modern engineered refined foods.

> noone is obese from eating too many potatoes

You get obese from eating too many calories, source is irrelevant. Sugars and refined foods are dangerous because they are particularly addictive. But if you crave carbs, and think potatoes are a "healthy" way to satisfy that craving, you're very wrong.

I mean, source kind of does matter, because potatoes are pretty filling. You would be hard pressed to eat enough potatoes to become obese at 110 calories a pop, unless you cover them in cheese and sour cream and meats, in which case it's not really the potatoes fault. I'm not saying they're a healthy diet option but you can't blame potatoes for someone being obese, which is what we're talking about.

Did a sweet potatoe diet For a month. Boiled or microwaved. Nothing added.

Felt Amazing after it. Was the most boring thing ever.

> which is on the low end for obese people

do obese people burn more calories just by being fat or are you assuming that they are still getting fatter?

Obese people do need higher calories to maintain their weight. Given that severity of obesity rates in increasing its also true that most fat people are only getting fatter though.