This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Potatoes USA for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.
When I first met my husband he already had about 30 marathons under his belt. I was a little behind on that score, I didn’t run my first until about six months after we met (though I’ve run 37 now!). We did have one thing in common though (well, lots of things, but for the purposes of this article…), we both loved potatoes as fuel for our fitness activities.
In all honesty, I love potatoes for just about everything. Potatoes are my comfort food, my energy food, my happy food that I serve at most meals. When I don’t feel well, a baked potato with just a little salt calms my tummy. The night before a big race I make sure that potatoes are on the menu. I slip potatoes into many of my recipes, including burritos and curry!
A medium potato (with its skin) has only 110 calories, about 30% of the daily value of Vitamin C, is a good source of Vitamin B6, and has more potassium than a banana. All this in a tidy little package that is versatile, fat and cholesterol free, and is, of course, vegan. A perfect vegetable if you ask me. In fact, the potato is the most nutrient-packed popular vegetable out there!
Fueled by Potatoes
As an endurance runner I am fueled by potatoes! They are the perfect food for athletes. Complex carbs, Vitamin C, potassium and deliciousness in a small package. What's not to love? #ad #whatareyoueating #potatoesfuelyouClick To Tweet
As I’ve learned a little more about potatoes, I now know why they have been a perfect pre-race food for Alan and me all of these years. Potatoes are full of nutrient-rich complex carbohydrates, which are fuel for your brain and your body. Not only does a skin-on medium potato have 26 grams of carbohydrates, it contains 620 mg of potassium, which is an important electrolyte, both of which help fuel an athlete through a long endurance event.
Potatoes are even great for recovery, with three grams of complete protein to help refuel your body after a hard effort. The 27 mg of Vitamin C in potatoes also helps recovery. It is an antioxidant, aids in collagen production, and may support the body’s immune system.
Fortunately, potatoes are delicious too! They come in all colors and types, from russet to fingerling, yellow to purple (and red and white too!). There are thousands of ways to prepare potatoes! I love them in soups and stews, where they absorb all the flavors, or all by themselves with just a little salt (or salsa!). French fries have long been my weakness (thank goodness for my air fryer so I can now eat them to my heart’s content). Or did you say mashed? Potato salad? I’m in!
Potato Volcano Recipe
Potato Volcanoes are one of my favorite ways to prepare potatoes. Made with vegan chicken and cashew cheese sauce, they make a delicious plant-based meal that is perfect for the night before a hard training effort. I’m happy to share the recipe below.
- 1 cup cashews, soaked for an hour then drained
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 cup non-dairy milk
- 1 tablespoon cilantro
- 1 teaspoon Serrano or Jalapeno chile
- salt/pepper to taste
- 2 baked potatoes
- ½ cup onions, chopped
- 1 Serrano or Jalapeno Chile
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup vegan chicken
- Combine the cashews, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, non-dairy milk, cilantro, chile, salt and pepper in a high-speed blender. Blend until creamy. Should be the consistency of a cheese sauce. If it is too thick, slowly add additional non-dairy milk until you get the right consistency.
- After baking the potatoes, allow them to cool. Slice off the top and scoop out the potato, leaving the empty skin. Set aside.
- Cook the vegan chicken according to package directions. Set aside.
- Heat the "cheese" sauce mixture, stirring frequently.
- In a frying pan, heat the oil over medium. Add the onions and chiles and cook until soft.
- Stir in the potatoes, vegan chicken, and half the "cheese" sauce. Cook, stirring, occasionally until heated through.
- Serve in the potato skins. Top with the rest of the "cheese" sauce.
Check out Potato Goodness for more delicious recipes and nutrition information.
What is your favorite way to eat potatoes?
Weekly Linkups
My weekly linkups! Please stop by and check out all of the great recipes, workouts, and information that all these awesome bloggers share every week!
Meatless Monday with Sarah and Deborah
Meatless Monday with Annmarie and Dixya
Tuesdays on the Run with Marcia, Erika, and Patty
Inspire Me Monday with Janice
Wild Workout Wednesday with Annmarie, Jen, and Nicole
The Plant-Based Potluck Party with Deborah
The Running Coaches’ Corner with Rachel, Lora Marie, Marc, and Me!
Friday 5 2.0 with Rachel and Lacey and Meranda
Weekly Wrap with Wendy and Holly
I love how potatoes can be the base for an entire meal! This is definitely a creative and delicious looking recipe!
I love the volcanoes! It’s one of the dishes I converted to vegan years ago.
I’m with you- we eat a lot of potatoes around here too! This recipe looks delicious.
It’s one of my favorites! My hubby’s too. One of the recipes I converted to vegan.
I do love potatoes but don’t eat them that often. I really should because they are a great carb source, especially as a pre-long run dinner!
And they’re so easy! Baked fries for the win!
I love potatoes and all of those chile peppers sound amazing in there. The spicier the better for me
They are spicy (and my hubby loves to add sriracha to his!).
Baked potatoes are the best! I like to add butter and garlic salt to mine. Yummy!
Ooh, I’ll have to try them with garlic salt!
I love potatoes! I eat them quite regularly at home. This recipe looks awesome – I try to avoid dairy these days, so a creamy non-dairy recipe is just what I need
The cashew cheese is awesome as a topping (mine is a little too thick here).
I love potatoes, too, and I eat them a lot, although I have never heard of a potato volcano!
I like to bake a couple of sweet potatoes and then make home fries with them to have on hand throughout the week. I also love using them as a crust for a frittata!
Yum, they’d make a great crust!
Potatoes are like my favorite food on the planet! Super cool recipe
Potatoes are awesome!
They had salty potato wedges at one of the Anne Arundel Century rest stops and they were AMAZING! Another one of my marathon friends uses them for fuel too.
Potatoes + Salt = Heaven!
Yum. Yum. Yum. I totally love potatoes. In fact, most days, my lunch consists of a baked potato with a few pepperoni slices and cheese (not totally healthy LOL, but totally delicious). Your recipe sounds awesome…I’m gonna try it 😉
I hope you like it! My sauce is a little thick here, next time I’d make sure it was thinner. It still tastes great, just doesn’t photograph as well. 🙂
I love potatoes too!! They are so versatile and I don’t think I could ever get tired of them. I actually only started eating them again recently. My husband is more paleoish and didn’t eat potatoes (only sweet potatoes occasionally) and so I didn’t make other types. But, I am leaning more towards the vegetarian side and need more of a variety of foods. Good to read that potatoes have 3 grams of complete proteins. That helps 🙂
I saw a recipe on TV last week for buffalo chicken baked potatoes so I tried to recreate it and it was fabulous!
Thanks for linking up.