Creamer Potatoes are Good Carbs

Welcome to March, National Nutrition Month. We know you want to make your life simpler and healthier, so we thought we’d help by clearing up two common misconceptions when it comes to Little Potatoes.

Creamers are vegetables

—and one of the most nutritious around making them an essential part of your family’s well-balanced diet. Little Potatoes deliver big on potassium, fiber, iron and vitamins C and B₆. They’re also one veggie you’ll have no problem getting the kids to eat.

When it comes to the Good Carbs/Bad Carbs debate, Little Potatoes are on “Team Good.”

That’s why Dr. Atkins includes them on his “Do Eat” list. All carbs are not equal, and all are not bad. Carbs got a bad rap when a string of high-protein diets became the trend. And sadly, the Little Potato got pulled in.

They’re complex—in a good way

Though low-cal Creamers clock in at only 20 calories each (fully dressed), they have 20 g of complex carbohydrates.

Complex carbs—or “good carbs”—are found in whole grains (cooked), legumes, fruit and vegetables. “Complex” means they’re full of fiber, which helps our systems absorb them slowly. That means a stable blood sugar level without peaks and valleys (i.e., no cravings and binge eating).

Complex carbs also help lower our risk for chronic disease, and may even prevent colon cancer, according to Harvard School of Public Health.-1 In addition, when we eat fiber, it sends a signal to our brain telling us we’re full; so fiber can play a role in helping us maintain a healthy weight, especially if food cravings are one of our dietary pitfalls. The National Academies Institute of Medicine recommends adults eat 45 to 65 percent of their calories from complex carbohydrates.

On the “bad carb” side, highly processed, refined carbohydrates—white bread or white rice, for example—are stripped of beneficial fiber, water and nutrients, often filled with fat and sugar, all of which increase the risk of heart disease, obesity and diabetes.-2

The good news is it’s not hard to eat complex carbs. Just fill your diet with real foods “that look as if they actually came out of the earth,” the Pritikin Longevity Center says. In other words, corn, not cornflakes; an orange, not orange juice; potatoes, not fries.

So the next time you’re planning meals, don’t shy away from good complex carbs—Creamer potatoes! Imagine the great-great grand-relatives are coming to dinner, and cook their favorites!

How do you enjoy your complex carbs? Share your tips!

1- http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/carbohydrates/carbohydrates-and-blood-sugar/
2- http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/carbohydrates/