PURPLE POTATOES: who eats them? Well for one extremely healthy people like me do–as well as the people on the island of Okinawa who eat them as a daily staple–with amazing health benefits to show for it!
Most of us have seen purple skin potatoes but most folks have never heard of potatoes that are purple internally. There are a few varieties–grown in America and in Japan and other parts of the world.
Most people who I show them to make the comment that they are pretty. And yes actually there is a whole lot of pretty in these super healthy antioxidant potatoes.
You may wonder why someone would want to eat potatoes every day of their life. Let me explain something here. A study that was done in 1995 noted very low mortality rates from cancer and cardiovascular disease in people from Okinawa. At this time those folks were eight times less likely to die from prostate cancer, seven times less likely to die from breast cancer, three times less likely to die from colon cancer, and eight times less likely to die from cardiovascular disease than Americans. Are you getting convinced yet?
The mortality spread was even wider back in the 1950s and beyond as Okinawans had not been exposed to Americanized processed foods at that time. Since the 1950’s and 60’s they have wandered away from the purple potato and substituted more rice and bread. Their stats are going to show this bad decision soon.
The island of Okinawa is one of the few places on earth that’s held the record for folks living to over 100 years old. Purple potatoes surely couldn’t have been what was making these islanders live over 100 years old, you say. Yes, it most likely was. The native diet of these islanders consists of 30% vegetables, a small portion of fish and brown rice, the purple potato, pork, and probably a little sake.
Yes, all of their staple foods are very healthy but let’s take a look at the purple potato in particular. We are all aware of the high antioxidant level of blueberries and how they heal our bodies. Well, picture this: a purple Japanese yam is loaded with the antioxidant anthocyanin and has over 150 times the antioxidant that blueberries have. The antioxidant in purple potatoes is also the pigment that makes grapes and blueberries purple. Convinced yet?
My favorite way to cook them is to slice them thinly and fry them in coconut oil on very low heat and seasoned with pink Himalayan salt. You can put the lid on for a few minutes to allow some steam to cook them through, then let them crisp up a few minutes with the lid off. When cooking with this method be absolutely sure to keep the heat at a lower range and take them out of the skillet as quickly as possible when they are done. These potatoes are very delicate and will burn easily at higher temperatures and will be soggy if the heat is too low. You might want to practice it more than once before you give up as these potatoes are not only one of the most powerful anti-inflammatories that you can put in your body, they are absolutely delicious.
A safer or more fail-proof way of cooking them is to cut into 1-inch squares, lay on a cookie sheet covered in aluminum foil, drench with melted coconut oil and add pink Himalayan salt and maybe a dash of cinnamon and bake at 275° for approximately 20 minutes. (I never ever ever ever cook real food in the oven at over 275°). Start checking them at around 18 minutes as these potatoes can become overcooked quite quickly.
If you make vegetable soup from scratch, add a few chopped purple potatoes which take on the flavors of the spices and add color and amazing nutrients to the pot.
If you love mashed potatoes then you absolutely must try replacing your white potatoes for these beauties. Besides being very delicious, the color is also very festive for any gathering. Shove your white starchy (sugary) potatoes to the back of the shelf today and give these a try in your diet. I’m fairly certain you will like the change.
I sincerely care about you and the health of your family.
GET HEALTHY AMERICA!
