Are those potatoes? Nope, daikon radish cubes cooked and ready to mash. A great low carb potato or rice substitute and full of fiber!
This week we are experimenting with lower carbohydrate potato substitutes. At my house I had an array of tubers of all shapes and sizes that I was cooking up. Parsnips, Jicama, Rutabagas, Daikons, Russets, Yukon Gold and New Potatoes were on my kitchen counter ready to be peeled, boiled and mashed.
Ah, this is the best part of the cookbook experimental thought process - I feel like a mad scientist at work! There I was slaving over these ugly potato versions in search of the right combination of potato fluffiness but lowering the carbohydrate with adding a less starchy but satisfying addition.
Tubers in general are an excellent source of fiber, most are good sources of Vitamin C, Potassium and
Here's a low down of the tubers and their calorie/carb breakdown:
Sweet Potato: These are the vitamin A powerhouses. A serving of sweets will give you over 3 x the RDA for these essentail retanoids. They also pack a punch of carbs at 24 g net carb/.5 cup.
Yukon Gold: Those creamy deliciously yellow round potatoes that are perfect for making mashers. 22 g net carb / .5 cup
Red Potato: Very similar in nutrition to the Yukons. These potatoes hold their shape better when boiled and lend themselves to a great potato salad. 22 g net carb / .5 cup
Russet Potatoes - These are your standard fluffy bakers which are known to make the best mashed potatoes. 27 g net carb in a 1/2 cup serving. But if you hollow it out and just eat the skin - you get 2 net carbs per half potato skin!
Parsnips - They look like a large pale carrot and taste like a cross between a potato and carrot - similar to a yam. These are slightly lower in a carbohydrates than your standard potato and cook up to a tender, creamy starch with a slightly sweet taste. 17 g net carb / .5
Rutabaga - These are nutrition powerhouses with loads of Vitamin A and C with high fiber and low sugar. However, these are an acquired taste - often bitter. I find these best blended with a sweeter tuber like a yam or potato. 4 g net carb.
Jicama - The Mexican tuber - this sweet fleshed beauty is best served raw. I've tried roasting and boiling this starch but I believe raw is the way to go. Too bad it can't be a good mashed potato substitute as it serves up only 2 g net carb.