Instant Mashed

Simple and clean cut. Are instant mashed potatoes good for you? bad for you? or so so? I know that potatoes are awesome for you, but I'm not sure if those convenient flakes located in those 34 cent pouches are. I've been eating A LOT of them lately, with grilled chicken and steaks, so I want to make sure I'm not killing myself. Hopefully someone here will tell me how great they are and that I'm actually making myself healthier with each heaping spoonful.

I had always heard that potatoes are pretty much an empty food without a whole lot of nutritional content (unless you eat the skin that has a little bit of nutrition in it).

Mashed Potatoes are filler. You're eating it for the quick energy derived from starch.

Instant Mashed Potatoes are a mixed big. They do contain a fair amount of salt and preservatives. They usually don't contain any nutrition unless they're made with milk, not water. However, they do contain trace vitamins and a decent portion of fiber.

They're ok. My suggestion? Toasted Whole Wheat Bread instead of the instant mashed potatoes.

Originally Posted by RacinReaver

I had always heard that potatoes are pretty much an empty food without a whole lot of nutritional content (unless you eat the skin that has a little bit of nutrition in it).

Isn't it true though that the human body can live off of nothing more than potatoes?

I imagine you could get by pretty long off of just potatoes, but that doesn't mean it's a good idea.

I cant stand the taste of instant mashed potatoes. There's something about them that are distinctively different and more....chemical-tasting than regular potatoes.

I usually mash my potatoes up with a shitload of garlic and milk. Nothing beats some good garlic-mashed potatoes. <3

It may not be the HEALTHIEST choice, but since when do I care about that.

I love raw potatoes and eat them often. I have done some basic research and found that the starch content is not too bad and the raw potato has all sorts of fibre that is good for you. Also, potatoes have more potassium than the average banana. I think there are other vitamin benefits as well but don't quote me on that.

What the fuck, Vivi, raw potatoes?

You so crazy.

Originally Posted by Midna

What the fuck, Vivi, raw potatoes?

You so crazy.

Sorry dude, grew up on the farm. Well, not at my house, but both my grandparents (Both sides) had farms and one of them had a huge amount of grown potatoes. Raw potatoes are great! Add a little salt and mmmmm...

I don't understand why so many people think its terrible.

We're all just used to the fact that you have to cook them before you even decide to eat a potato. No one would initially thing to go and eat a raw potato.

I sure as hell wouldn't.

Originally Posted by The Wise Vivi

Sorry dude, grew up on the farm. Well, not at my house, but both my grandparents (Both sides) had farms and one of them had a huge amount of grown potatoes. Raw potatoes are great! Add a little salt and mmmmm...

I don't understand why so many people think its terrible.

Hey, I can respect you eating raw potatoes, but I had just never heard of people doing that before. I have had the misfortune of taking a bite of undercooked potato, and I really didn't like it, so I can't imagine enjoying them completely raw.

I've eaten one. Tastes like a weird apple. I heard that poor people in third-world countries couldn't afford fuel and what not, so eating raw potatoes wasn't a problem. My grandparents did it.

Instant anything is rarely good for you, and will never taste as good as the real thing. It's much better to put a little effort in and make mashed potatoes from actual potatoes, even if it costs a little extra.

I've been tempted to try raw potatoes actually because I'm tired of fruit and raw carrots etc. I like apples, maybe I should add this to my diet.

I've had instant potatoes before, but it just didn't taste as good as real potatoes. I also know that instant potatoes are quite high in sodium as well, which isn't good when eaten for a while.

Instant mashed potatoes taste far too flavorless, except for the butter after-taste.

I find that I really like instant mashed. Then again, the only times I've had it are when there's nothing else in the cupboard and I haven't eaten anything real in a week.

Context, I suppose.

Instant mashed just doesn't taste natural to me and probably doesn't include the nutrients of a baked potatoe. I prefer real potatoes, the baked variety especially as the skin is extremely healthy and has a high dose of Vitamin D, (I think).

Oh. my. god. Raw potatoes. Haha! That sounds really cool. I wonder how crunchy they'd be, they seem really hard compared to apples..hmm.

Anyway, I digress. Over here we have these Maggi Mashed Potato Dispensers in the 7-11 stores which dispense creamy mashed potatoes WITH the sauce as well, steaming hot! They taste real good, and usually anything that tastes good isn't usually good for the body, and its pretty accurate 95% of the time..so to sum it all up, instant mashed potatoes are not that good for the body. MAKE IT FRESH! : D

I can't deal with instant potatoes. It's gotta be home made, sure that's a little demanding but I'm more then willing to be the one who makes them....except for the peeling, I'm allergic to potato skins.

Originally Posted by KaneSlayer

Oh. my. god. Raw potatoes. Haha! That sounds really cool. I wonder how crunchy they'd be, they seem really hard compared to apples..hmm.

They are VERY crunchy, but sooo good. Seriously people, I never thought eating raw potatoes would be such a shocker to the majority of the world! (Well, GFF at least)