Low Calorie Mashed Potatoes and Low Calorie Mashed Sweet Potatoes

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I thought I'd attempt to create some low calorie mashed potatoes, which are by far my favorite food to eat at Thanksgiving. I also decided to make low calorie mashed sweet potatoes (which are so filling with their subtle sweet taste) at the same time to see how they'd turn out.

Both recipes came out really well and if you are planning on avoiding mashed potatoes all together for Thanksgiving, you might want to think again (remember, you can make your own using one of these recipes, and take them to your party where no one will know or even suspect).

My Low Calorie Mashed Potatoes (makes 3 servings)

Ingredients
- 2 medium(ish) potatoes (500 grams total)
- 1 tbsp of Promise Light Spread (available at Safeway)
- 2 tbsp of low fat sour cream
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Reduced Fat Milk (optional -- only if you prefer a more creamy mash)

Instructions
- Carefully clean your potatoes, and pierce each one several times (and if you are calorie restricted, now is the right time to weigh them using your kitchen scale to make sure you are making the right amount -- you can always look up the exact calories for your potatoes on calorieking)
- (Optional) Remove the skin from the potatoes (I leave it on since I love the way it tastes and it has nutrients like vitamin C, iron and fiber)
- Cook the potatoes in the microwave (or boil on the stovetop for 20-30 minutes if you are more comfortable) until they are soft (in my microwave, 2 potatoes takes about 7 minutes)
- Carefully remove the potatoes from the microwave and put them into a large bowl
- Mash the potatoes with a potato masher (or use a fork if you don't have one -- but they might not turn out as good)
- Add the Promise Activ Spread and continue mashing until it is mixed in
- Add the low fat sour cream and continue mashing until it is mixed in
- (Optional) Add some reduced fat milk, and mix briefly with a mixer to make smooth and creamy
- Add salt and pepper to taste (note: you don't need much salt, since the butter has salt in it)
- Divide into 3 servings!

If you use the same sized potatoes (with skin) as I did (500 grams before I cooked them) then this whole recipe (without the milk since it is optional) comes out to 460 calories with 7 grams of fat and 11 grams of fiber:
- 385 calories for the potatoes, 11 grams of fiber
- 45 calories for the buttery spread, 5 grams of fat
- 30 calories for the low fat sour cream, 2 grams of fat

That means each serving is 153 calories, 2.3 grams of fat, 3.6 grams of fiber, or 2-3 weight watchers points (right on the line). Pretty darn good for mashed potatoes!


So, following the same recipe, I also made *delicious* & *decadent* low calorie mashed sweet potatoes which you can see in the picture to the left (might be hard to tell but the potatoes are yellow instead of white). They are unbelievably filling and worth trying if you like the added sweetness of sweet potatoes. The entire recipe will be slightly higher in calories but with more fiber (about 45 more calories total, and 4 extra grams of fiber), but it doesn't come out to be that different once you break it into servings.

By the way, thank you to those of you that have suggested I try Promise Activ Light! It definitely did the trick for this recipe!

One last tip -- if you want to make garlic mashed potatoes, you can follow the same recipe for the mashed potatoes, but add 2 cloves of diced garlic at the end. It is soooo good (we did this tonight after I took the picture)!

Enjoy!
Juliet

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