Remember the Potato

You can buy a bag of potatoes for a dollar at 99 cent only store. You can live for a week on a bag of potatoes. All you need is a microwave and some salt. It helps to have a knife, fork and plate also. I discovered this trick when I broke my neck last year. I knew there was no one to help me so I asked a neighbor to buy me a bag of potatoes. I lived for weeks on potatoes and never went hungry. I was fortunate I thought of THAT.

I developed many different way to prepare potatoes and am eating a whole bag right now in honor of the event.  My favorite is baked potato with teryaki sauce and soy sauce (with no salt and no butter).  The soy sauce is salty and the teryaki sauce is kind of sweet. Very flavorful.  I also like baked potato with salt, butter, and tomato catsup.  Another good option is baked potato with barbeque sauce, salt, and butter. Another favorite is baked potato with tomato salsa and taco sauce. There have to be more good combinations. I am avoiding sour cream, or ranch salad dressing, but the ranch salad dressing idea is tempting.

One reason my recovery was so successful is that I think I consider myself to be a practical optimist. I recognize how the world really sucks, but I try to make the best of it philosophically, honestly, and creatively. Honesty is the most important to me. AND -- I work hard and I do not cheat.

(Well, I try to cheat as little as possible when I can actually control my more devilish impulses...)

HAHA

I have to laugh that a tiny bag of nuts costs the same as a huge bag of potatoes. AND for the cost of a cheeseburger and fries, you could fill the back seat of your car with bags of potatoes.



Boiling water on top of the stove scares me. I am forgetful. I am afraid I would start a fire. One thing I like about potatoes is they are self contained and EASY. Put a potato in the microwave for five minutes and it is ready to eat. If you forget about it, it will still be there -- no problem.

I love using the microwave and prefer it to the stove or oven. I got one for $20 used. A bargain at a GoodWill store 5 years ago. You can buy a "good condition" used microwave at a GoodWill store.

As far as I can tell the only real danger from using the microwave is possible radiation exposure from standing too close to an old microwave (with "bad seals") while it is in operation. The microwave does not "leave radiation in your food." Microwave operates by exciting water molecules and this is what generates the heat. No water = no heat. There is no "residual radiation."

Experts say, "18 inches is the minimum distance one should stand away from the microwave while it is operational."


A potato is a good source of fiber.  According to Wikipedia a potato with 163 calories has 4.7 grams of fiber.  This is 2.88 grams of fiber for 100 calories or almost 3 grams of fiber for 100 calories.


Apparently, the potatoes in the Irish Potato Famine were all descended from just a few original potatoes brought over by the conquistadors in Spain. (the potato is originally from Peru and was unknown before 1500 CE in Europe). Because ALL the potatoes in Ireland were so similar genetically, they were exceptionally vulnerable to the Potato Blight that killed the potatoes and caused the great potato famine in Ireland.  This reduced the population by 20 - 25%    Almost 12% died of starvation.   Another 12% of the population of Ireland migrated to North America and almost 40% of THEM died en route to North America.  (facts from Wikipedia.org)


"Any man that likes potatoes cannot be all bad." - Dr. Tony Bravado

copyright (c) 2017

William Schaeffer