Nutrition Any Potato Hackers?

[vegpedlr]

Two more of my favorites! I like to make Borscht since I like beets, but don't have a ton of ways to use them. One of my favorite warm weather meals is a Baked Potato Salad. Chop enough cold baked potatoes into a large bowl and season. Then, build a big salad on top.

 

[vegpedlr]

Update:

Five days done, 4.5 lb weight loss. First couple of days were a bit challenging, as I felt hungry, not in the sense of true hunger, but more for something "fun." Settling in now. Been keeping the spuds pretty plain, mostly salt and vinegar. Experimented with mashed spuds and gravy by making a gravy from mushrooms, stock, and potato starch that turned out pretty good. Have had a couple of meals of roasted with a dipping condiment or spices. Will keep on in this fashion through the end of the week and evaluate. I might expand the recipes and ingredients to include green veggies and more flavors, or not. Might even branch out to include sweet potato. @Chrisdavisjr, that Sag Aloo recipe looks good, different from what I've usually seen, may have to give it a go.

For training, doing Easy Strength, split in two, one set AM, one set PM.

Trap Bar DL 2x5
Clean and Press 2x5
Pull up
Ab wheel
Swings or carries

This week the goal is to get the endurance base building going strong each day, and some bike specific core work. I'm also reserving Sundays as a "test" day aka maintenance. Just do one work set at my previous working weight for SQ, BP, and DL to measure strength. Do I get weaker, stronger, or just maintain? So far, no loss.

Potatoes to the People

 

[vegpedlr]

Bonus:

Tim Steele describes making a gravy with stock thickened with potato starch, which has an excellent resistant starch content. It thickens differently than either corn starch or arrowroot, so my first go was a little weird. But,

Bring a saucepan of stock, preferable homemade to a boil
Meanwhile, saute some onion, garlic and mushrooms. Season with onion and garlic powder
Add to the stock along with some soy sauce
Dissolve potato starch in a small amount of water or stock, add to saucepan and cook until thickened.

 

[Chrisdavisjr]

@Chrisdavisjr, that Sag Aloo recipe looks good, different from what I've usually seen, may have to give it a go.

It's very good, but I'd advise cooking it for quite a bit longer than the recipe suggests to ensure that the potatoes are nicely browned before you add the water and are properly cooked through before you add the spinach.

 

[vegpedlr]

Good point. That's why I usually use pre-cooked potatoes for such dishes. It makes it easier to focus on the other ingredients, knowing the potatoes are already done.

 

[vegpedlr]

Two week update:

About 7 lbs down, which averages about a half a pound a day, which is normal. Averaging 3-4 lbs a week is pretty good. Spud Fit (Andrew Taylor) averaged about 2 lbs a week for the year he did it. Fast weight loss at the beginning of the year, then it slowed.

Few cravings, meals satisfy. The only time that is challenging is after dinner and before bed. While watching TV I get the munchies, but I know if I just ride it out, I go to bed, sleep well, and wake up with no great appetite. So a little IF in there as well.

Adding in more ingredients and flavors. Missing Asian flavors, I "stir fried" some spuds with garlic, ginger, turmeric, soy sauce and rice vinegar with some bok choy. Pretty good. Have used some marinara sauce, air fryer fries with condiments, but often just salt and vinegar satisfies.

I'll just keep spudding along . . .

 

[offwidth]

While watching TV I get the munchies,

Potato Chips....

 

[kurt perham]

Two week update:

About 7 lbs down, which averages about a half a pound a day, which is normal. Averaging 3-4 lbs a week is pretty good. Spud Fit (Andrew Taylor) averaged about 2 lbs a week for the year he did it. Fast weight loss at the beginning of the year, then it slowed.

Few cravings, meals satisfy. The only time that is challenging is after dinner and before bed. While watching TV I get the munchies, but I know if I just ride it out, I go to bed, sleep well, and wake up with no great appetite. So a little IF in there as well.

Adding in more ingredients and flavors. Missing Asian flavors, I "sit fried" some spuds with garlic, ginger, turmeric, soy sauce and rice vinegar with some wok choy. Pretty good. Have used some marinara sauce, air fryer fries with condiments, but often just salt and vinegar satisfies.

I'll just keep spudding along . . .

How are "numbers" on the bike trending? Building CTL each week this time of year?

 

[vegpedlr]

I don't track numbers on the bike. Still too wet and muddy to train outside, so cross training and doing steady state trainer rides. Interspersing things with swings and carries to help break up the monotony. Doesn't help that Seattle is only a couple hours away.

Right now, potatoes, Easy Strength, potatoes, Easy Endurance, finish with some potatoes.

 

[vegpedlr]

Potato Chips....

The oil is an immediate DQ. And, if I'm not hungry enough to eat a plain, cold, cooked potato then I'm not truly hungry. So, sometimes I do. But I don't really need to eat that late. A mug of hot cacao or golden milk helps with that sort of "taste boredom."

 

[kurt perham]

I don't track numbers on the bike. Still too wet and muddy to train outside, so cross training and doing steady state trainer rides. Interspersing things with swings and carries to help break up the monotony. Doesn't help that Seattle is only a couple hours away.

Right now, potatoes, Easy Strength, potatoes, Easy Endurance, finish with some potatoes.

Roger that. Onwards.

 

[vegpedlr]

Well, by Potato Hack may be put on hold for the time being as I'm almost out of potatoes. Went to the market yesterday and there were NO potatoes. None, at three separate stores. I got some sweet potatoes, so with that extension I can last another couple days, when I'll try again and see if they've restocked. Tons of food available, not many people, seems the initial panic wore off and people realize that even in a lockdown, they can still get food. Was a bit surprised and encouraged to see that the emptiest spaces were potatoes, oats, frozen veg.

 

[ali]

I know we'll all be anxious at this time.
It's just my view but I'd ditch any diet issues unless you have a health reason to do so.
I'd make the most of our bodies ability to store energy. Keep energy coming in. If you have to go without due to a lack of supply or quarantine or at worse, ill health then you'd be better prepped to cope. Lowered energy intake in times of high stress is something to be avoided generally and although there is a wide variability in a population to which that applies, and the consequences are just feeling a little low or not reaching your 'goal', whatever that means to you, the consequences now are different.
Well established link to stress and immunity. We all have anxiety, health, economic, family and social pressures to cope with at the best of times and that is going to be amplified to a degree we may not appreciate yet.
Given the threat, a virus and that threat may not be that high for us on an individual level (but it may be), it is the threat of transmission to other more vulnerable members of society which is the over riding public health issue.
Stay strong, train absolutely but not too much. Keep energy levels up. Eat more if you can than less, if anything and ditch any lifestyle or athletic goals for the time being.
At least that's how I intend go about things in these coming months.
On a serious note, exercise. It does lower immunity. Athletes are more prone to respiratory infection. Think we should be considered more than ever about defining a dosage, the choices we make, the intensity of it, the duration, the type of exercise. All these things we consider in our practice are now going to be crucial for our health. Literally. And that of others.
So I'm training but taking an edge off. Nothing heavy, nothing too demanding.
We'll all have other demands placed on us. We balance out risk/reward with exercise choice in normal times. These are not normal times.
Stay safe.