Potato swaps

Just how healthy potato is for you depends on how you prepare and eat it.  

Why potato is good

Often lumped with sugar, white flour and white rice, this humble vegetable is not a refined food. It actually contains significant nutrients, including fibre, potassium, vitamin C and magnesium.

Further, potatoes are high in antioxidants, particularly the purple- and red-skinned varieties. Although dark green leafy vegetables have the highest nutrient scores, potatoes offer one of the best nutritional values for money.

However, most potato varieties fall in the medium to high Glycaemic Index (GI) range. The GI is a measure of how quickly your blood sugar is raised—the lower the better—so how you prepare and serve potato is important.  

How to make it healthier

Potato swaps

For more variety or even lower GI choices, try the following:

Butter bean and thyme mash

A delicious alternative to mashed potato, butter beans (also known as lima beans) have a buttery flavour and a smooth, starchy texture. They also drop the GI of the entire meal and control blood sugar levels.

Preparation time: 6 mins • Cooking time: 24 mins • Serves: 8  

Ingredients

Method

Tips

PER SERVE: Energy 1072 kJ (256 cal). Fat 15 g. Protein 20 g. Saturated fat 2 g. Carbohydrate 8 g. Fibre 13 g. Cholesterol 0 mg. Calcium 116 mg. Iron 6.1 mg. Sodium 290 mg.