Purple Potatoes and Seitan BBQ Ribs
Monday, July 14, 2008
I let my son take the photos of tonights dinner. I really didn't think I would blog about it but after eating it I changed my mind. For one thing the mock seitan ribs were really delish, and the second reason is that I wanted to help spread the word about purple potatoes. Granted this picture doesn't do them justice, but I'm telling you, any way you make them, purple potatoes are fabulous.
White potatoes cause a rapid increase in blood sugar followed by a medically dangerous drop in blood sugar and for diabetics that can lead to a trip to the hospital. So many years ago I discovered purple potatoes. They weren't popular then like they are now, so I had to grow my own. Purple - Peruvian - Potatoes were some of the first potatoes harvested by humans. Because of their beauty and appealing taste they were saved for Inca kings. They have a naturally creamy flavor and texture and they hold their shape in salads.
What I love most about these purple gems is their sweet, moist taste. If you have ever had well prepared taro from Hawaii - or taro chips - you have tasted something that resembles the taste of a purple potato. And as with all darkly colored vegetables purple potatoes are brimming with all types of nutrients that your body craves.
Purple potatoes (sometimes called blue or black potatoes) have the same powerful antioxidant that give blueberries their bright color. They are a very good source of vitamin C, vitamin B6, copper, potassium, manganese, and dietary fiber. They also contain a variety of phytonutrients that have antioxidant activity. Among these important health-promoting compounds arecarotenoids, flavonoids, and caffeic acid, as well as unique tuberstorage and proteins, which exhibit activity against freeradicals, and newly identified blood pressure-lowering compounds called kukoamines.
Use them any way you would use other type of potato. Mash them, Slice them and BBQ them wrapped in foil with onions and margarine, steam them, microwave them, use them in potato salads, or just eat them raw. You will love them. They have so much flavor by themselves that I often just steam them and eat them naked.
In short, Purple potatoes do a body good! Better health, better flavor, it doesn't get any better than that.
For my seitan BBQ Ribs recipe click here.
Labels: BBQ, blue, Peruvian, purple potatoes, seitan, Vegan, Vegetarian
