Say Yes to These White Foods
By Mary Hartley, RD
White food has gotten a bum rap because white sugar and white flour may be harmful in excess. But it’s unwise to discriminate against “white” when it’s the color of some mighty healthy foods. Milk, cottage cheese, cauliflower, garlic, onions, tofu, potatoes, white beans, and white whole wheat flour are all over-the-top nutritious. But unlike other foods that have nutrient properties based on color, foods that are white have nothing in common. Here are four classes of white food to include in your diet.
Dairy Foods
Healthier when skimmed of fat, dairy foods are naturally white and rich in difficult-to-get nutrients, like calcium, phosphorous, potassium, vitamin B12, riboflavin, and vitamins A and D. when added. Milk, buttermilk, yogurt, kefir, sour cream, and cheeses are all loaded with high quality protein. Milk, if not its variants, is plentiful, cheap, and versatile. Drink milk with meals and use dairy foods in recipes.
Try: Vanilla-Date Breakfast Smoothie Recipe
The Alliums - Garlic, Onion, Shallot and Leeks
The allium family is white and so very nutritious that they may be virtual medicines. They are all rich in sulfur, a nutrient that is said to clean the blood and is lacking in the average US diet. Garlic is a blood thinner that helps blood pressure and can modestly reduce triglycerides and cholesterol in the blood. The entire family has anti-inflammatory, antibiotic and diuretic properties, and they are rich in manganese, a trace mineral that helps the body use other nutrients, and in vitamin C and B vitamins and chromium in onions and selenium in garlic. Eat at least one high-allium food every day.
Try: Spring Onion Soup with Garlic Croutons Recipe
White Fishes
This category includes whitefish, cod, haddock, flounder, tilapia, halibut, and others. They are ultra low in fat and calories and particularly high in complete protein. White fish are valuable sources of calcium, phosphorous, potassium, iodine and fluorine, which are all needed for a myriad of bodily functions. The new Dietary Guidelines say adults should eat at least 8 ounces of fish per week.
Try: Mediterranean Cod Recipe
Potatoes
Spuds are so common and plentiful that they are taken for granted, but they are a wonderful source of vitamin C as well as energetic carbohydrates, fiber, potassium, manganese, vitamin B6, and copper. Potatoes contain a variety of phytonutrients that have antioxidant activity. Entire nations own their existence to the mighty potato. Potatoes belong in every balanced diet.
Try: Herbed Potato Salad Recipe
Your thoughts.....
What is your favorite healthy white food?
Comments
What about parsnips and white beans such as cannellini, butter beans, and haricot beans?
I absolutely love firm tofu! Sometimes I put cubes of it in my salad or just eat it plain as a snack.
LOVELOVELOVE me some garlic! What? We don't eat enough garlic? Put it in everything, you say? OK!
I love potatoes too (baked, with allllllllll the trimmins!) but they're so high in calories, I don't know how to fit them in. And the texture is such that I really need to add some kind of liquid to them (mm, melty butter & sour cream & barbecue sauce!) to make it palatable, which only adds more badness. Is there such thing as a low cal potato dish? Anyone got any recipes they wanna send me, I won't mind!
From Rocco Dispirito's new book Now Eat This! Diet.
1 large russet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
4 cups fresh cauliflower florets, 6 garlic cloves, 1/4 cup buttermilk, salt
Freshly ground black pepper, 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
1. In a large saucepan, combine the potatoes, cauliflower and garlic. Add water to cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Once the mixture boils, reduce the heat so that it simmers. Cook until the vegetables are tender, about 15 mins; drain and return to the pan.
2. Add the buttermilk to the pan. With a hand-held blender, puree the mixture until it is smooth. (You can also use a food processor or a potato masher.) Season with salt and pepper to taste.
3. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and sprinkle the chives over the potatoes.
Serves 4. Fat grams: 0.5, Calories:101
oooh, I've made mashed cauliflower before and it did not go over well. Mixing it with potato, that's an idea!
Onions!!! Love them :D I use plenty at my salads and soups, they are almost calories free and provide a great flavor!
Jicama...a delicious summer time treat! Full of moisture, chilled with some fat free ranch dressing...yummy!
God, I love spring onions. My wife jokes that I'm going to start putting them on my ice cream soon. And we're finally starting to get some good leeks in the supermarket. I love spring!
I love potatoes! I like all different kinds especially red potatoes & Yukon gold. Lately I have been baking them in the microwave & then I cut them up into little pieces & smash them up with Brummel & Brown spread & some shredded Cabot Seriously Sharp Cheddar (the flavor is so strong that you don't need to use too much). I put it back in the microwave for 1 minute to melt the cheese & then I top it with low-fat or fat free sour cream, fresh ground sea salt & fresh ground black pepper. You can also add some veggies like broccoli, carrots & cauliflower. I've heard salsa is good on baked potatoes too.
I adore garlic! I put it on everything. I love it with sautted with veggies, pan-fried with new baby potatoes & a touch of olive oil, tossed with pasta in any sauce & even in a nice tomato basil soup (great for when I have a cold).
Whiting fish. Love it, love it! Even fried. [I know, it's a big weakness right up there with pizza].
Garlic - I always have some on hand.
Original Post by: fai1LOVELOVELOVE me some garlic! What? We don't eat enough garlic? Put it in everything, you say? OK!
I love potatoes too (baked, with allllllllll the trimmins!) but they're so high in calories, I don't know how to fit them in. And the texture is such that I really need to add some kind of liquid to them (mm, melty butter & sour cream & barbecue sauce!) to make it palatable, which only adds more badness. Is there such thing as a low cal potato dish? Anyone got any recipes they wanna send me, I won't mind!
I add salsa to the top of my baked potatoes when I eat them. I make my own salsa, though, so I know what's in it and besides it's ever so much better made up fresh. (I detest sugar in salsa!)
Blend 9 or 10 tomatoes (or use 1 large can of tomato sauce and one petite diced can), add a couple of chopped jalapenos (remove seeds for less hotness), maybe a half bunch of cilantro or less if you live with someone who isn't as passionate about it as I am (such as my hubby), about 1/2 chopped yellow onion, half of bunch of chopped green onions (I hand chop these as it makes the salsa look pretty), juice of one lime, some garlic powder and salt (or garlic salt). It's soooo good! Play around with the amounts until you make it your favorite too. Besides baked potatoes, it's also yummy on salad and so not naughty!
Where's the tofu? I love the Chinese firm style for stir frying and the softer Japanese silken for making scrambled tofu with minced onion (another white food!) and turmeric. Make sure your tofu is not made with genetically modified soybeans and always buy tofu made from soybeans grown in America or Canada.
Original Post by: kbunnieI absolutely love firm tofu! Sometimes I put cubes of it in my salad or just eat it plain as a snack.
I agree - I love to cube it and sprinkle with a little tamari for a snack.
On a baked potato instead of sour cram and butter use non fat greek yogart it is just as good and much better for you.
I like to have a variety of colors in my food, including white. I get a lot of green though, most of my favorite vegetables are green. It's very difficult to get natural blue foods, so I settle for different shades of purple.
I like a baked potato with salsa and low fat cheese - cheddar or mexican - satisfying flavors. Just measure the cheese and you'll be safe.
After reading all of these good ideas, I came up with some more. Most vegetables would be good on a baked potato: broccoli with low fat cheese, zucchini, summer squash, onions and tomato sauce. I like the recipe from Rocco DiSpirito with cauliflower and garlic - roasted garlic would be good too. You could do that in advance. Hope you've got a lot of possibilities. I do.
The best white food for me, these days is JICAMA so low in calories and so YUMMY!!! I can't get enough of it!
Into all your white foods except potatoes. If I were starving, that much starch might be a temporary necessity. If not, it's messing with the digestive process while it's say, "eat, eat!"
Cauliflower, broccoli, brussel sprouts, you name it, are good roasted with a slight coating of olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Oven at 375-400 for about 45 minutes or so and you'll be licking the roasting pan!
I also like Jicama. It's a very sweet tasting food. Also radishes are white (inside) and full of flavor and taste!
I often take 8 asperagus spears and chop them up... a small zucchini chopped up... some mushrooms...some broccoli...and a baked potato cut up and fry it up in the frying pan with a no cal/fat spray untill the green stuff turns BRIGHT green...top with a light sour cream and saracha...omg...so yummy!
i raley eat potaos but when i do i microwave one and add it to vegable rattoil with out meat or oil. Another is soya burgers home made. yumm
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Wow! Most of my favorite foods! Thank you!