I once asked a 4-year-old, “What vegetables do you eat?” And predictably, they started with “Mashed potatoes, mac and cheese…” to which I turned as I rolled my eyes. Out of curiosity, I also asked the PARENT (early 30s) the same question. And, like a parrot, they started “Well…mashed potatoes, corn…”
Y’all. Where did our education go wrong? Well, a couple of ways. First, the good old southern diner with the “meat and 3” deal led us to believe that the options for the 3 sides must all be vegetables. So, fries, dumplings and corn are vegetables, right? Wrong. So, what’s a vegetable then? How about the old rule of thumb: “If it grows in the ground, it’s a vegetable. On a tree/vine it’s a fruit.” Well, tomatoes and peanuts have something to say about that, don’t they? How about “If it’s green, it’s a veggie?” This Granny Smith I’m munching on begs to differ.
While this topic can go on for hours, let’s focus on the most common confusing one: the potato. There’s a LONG battle amongst gardeners on WHAT exactly it is. While botanically it IS a vegetable, it’s nutritionally a starch. It belongs to the nightshade family, along with tomatoes, eggplants and peppers. It’s also common, yet INCORRECT, to call them “root vegetables” as the potato is actually the swollen part of the stem of the Solanum tuberosum, not the root.
A botany professor once told us if he had to design the nutritionally and calorically WORST food he could come up with in a lab, he’d come out with a potato! While not a dastardly villain in a kung fu movie, he’s right. The potato is just hard for the body to turn into anything great. It’s a complex starch/carbohydrate that mostly gets converted into sugars in the body. So, unless you are a high-level athlete burning lots of calories for fuel, those sugars mostly just turn to fat. Be honest, can you tell me that every time you ate potatoes this year, you immediately hit the track and burned thousands of calories…no?
Now, don’t get me wrong. God gave potatoes redeeming qualities. They are a great source of vitamin C and potassium. Their skin is a great source of fiber. And when sitting next to a warm, but bloody, piece of carnivore delight, I’m not turning it down. I just don’t try and act like I’m part vegan after consuming one. The truth of the matter is, while the potato is TECHNICALLY a vegetable, we need to be honest with ourselves on how much false credit we’re patting ourselves on the back with. So just do me this favor: Are you running around this world like a 4-year-old, drowning French fries in ketchup, claiming you ate your veggies? Don’t do that.
Now that this is settled, the important question is: What’s a vegetable that’s regularly in your life? The ones that teach your kids Bible stories don’t count.
Yours in Health and Christ, Dr. Kirk
