How Potatoes Are Nutritious for Kids
Potatoes are controversial, aren't they? They're the most common vegetable eaten in the U.S. Unfortunately, they're mostly eaten in the form of French fries or potato chips. When eaten in either of these way, any nutritive benefits are heavily outweighed by the added fat and salt. Potatoes do contain healthy nutrients, like Vitamin C, Vitamin B6 and Potassium. They are so kid-friendly and versatile.
I don't know that I've ever heard of a child who won't eat potatoes in one form or another. I find potatoes to be a healthy option when used to thicken sauces, gravies and soups. A common thickener for these types of recipes is to start by making a roux. A traditional roux is made by heating butter in a small pan, adding flour and mixing until it thickens. Then you add milk until you get the consistency you want. This is fine, if you aren't worried about saturated fat, wheat intolerances, lactose intolerances or high caloric intake. But increasing numbers of families are finding it necessary to find other ways to make the foods their family loves without some of these less healthy ingredients.
Here's where the potato can step in and save the day. By pureeing boiled potatoes, or by mashing a baked potato into your gravy or soup, you can thicken it without major changes in texture or flavor. Here's a recipe where I swapped out a roux for blended potatoes. My kids slurped it up and never knew the difference. It may help that this soup has bacon in it, but with all the vegetables it contains, I feel this soup is well balanced.
Corn Chowder
4 slices bacon, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced or smashed
2 potatoes, peeled and chopped (half of the potatoes will be used to make the puree, and half will stay in chunks for the soup)
4 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 cups corn - fresh, frozen or canned
Chicken bouillon, to your taste
Salt and pepper, to taste
In large soup pot, fry chopped bacon until crisp. Remove bacon to paper towels and drain grease from pot. Next add onion, celery, garlic and potatoes. Add 1 cup water to pot and bring to a boil. Add water as necessary, until potatoes are soft. Remove from heat and empty contents into a large blending pitcher. Blend vegetables until pureed, adding water as necessary to get the consistency you want. Put pureed soup back into pot and add remaining potatoes and carrots. Bring to a boil and simmer soup for about 10 min., or until vegetables are softened. Add corn and remove from heat. Add bouillon and salt and pepper to taste and serve warm.
I don't know that I've ever heard of a child who won't eat potatoes in one form or another. I find potatoes to be a healthy option when used to thicken sauces, gravies and soups. A common thickener for these types of recipes is to start by making a roux. A traditional roux is made by heating butter in a small pan, adding flour and mixing until it thickens. Then you add milk until you get the consistency you want. This is fine, if you aren't worried about saturated fat, wheat intolerances, lactose intolerances or high caloric intake. But increasing numbers of families are finding it necessary to find other ways to make the foods their family loves without some of these less healthy ingredients.
Here's where the potato can step in and save the day. By pureeing boiled potatoes, or by mashing a baked potato into your gravy or soup, you can thicken it without major changes in texture or flavor. Here's a recipe where I swapped out a roux for blended potatoes. My kids slurped it up and never knew the difference. It may help that this soup has bacon in it, but with all the vegetables it contains, I feel this soup is well balanced.
Corn Chowder
4 slices bacon, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced or smashed
2 potatoes, peeled and chopped (half of the potatoes will be used to make the puree, and half will stay in chunks for the soup)
4 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 cups corn - fresh, frozen or canned
Chicken bouillon, to your taste
Salt and pepper, to taste
In large soup pot, fry chopped bacon until crisp. Remove bacon to paper towels and drain grease from pot. Next add onion, celery, garlic and potatoes. Add 1 cup water to pot and bring to a boil. Add water as necessary, until potatoes are soft. Remove from heat and empty contents into a large blending pitcher. Blend vegetables until pureed, adding water as necessary to get the consistency you want. Put pureed soup back into pot and add remaining potatoes and carrots. Bring to a boil and simmer soup for about 10 min., or until vegetables are softened. Add corn and remove from heat. Add bouillon and salt and pepper to taste and serve warm.
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