Feeling the crunch? Not only is the potato a vegetable for all seasons and ideal in most dishes, it can provide a nutritious and hearty meal on its own for less than R1 per serving.

This value-for-money vegetable is not only an excellent carbohydrate source but, with its skin on, can provide 35% of your body’s daily vitamin C needs. And the potato, without any dressing, also happens to be naturally free of cholesterol and fat, yet is satiating and will keep you feeling fuller for longer.

“The good news is that many people don’t realise that the potato can be included as part of your 5-a-Day eating plan along with including at least 5 servings a day of a variety of vegetables and fruit,” says 5-a-Day for Better Health TRUST CEO and dietitian Jane Badham.

Wonderfully versatile, the potato is available all year round at prices that remain relatively stable. They can be used in five different ways – baked, boiled, mashed, microwaved or added to soups or stews. “When it comes to a good healthy stew or soup, the potato is an essential ingredient says Badham.

The ideal intake for both children and adults is at least five servings of a wide variety of vegetables and fruit a day, including for example a banana with your cereal at breakfast, gem squash and peas with lunch, carrots and a potato with dinner. And that’s before you’ve enjoyed a piece of fruit on the go as a snack or a handful of raisins when hunger strikes! The good news is that frozen also counts and although at least three of your daily five must be fresh or frozen, 100% pure fruit juice and dried also count.

Carbohydrates are essential in our diets, and four medium-sized jacket potatoes a day provides for a third of an adult’s carbohydrate needs, while two potatoes take care of a third of a child’s daily carbohydrate needs. “Other starchy vegetables, and foods easily make up for the rest,” says Badham.

Little wonder the potato is the world’s highest selling vegetable. It’s the No.1 veggie for a healthy, economic meal.

Instead of having a braai this Saturday, make your friends the 5-a-Day’s Bean ‘Potjie’ for a healthy, economic and delicious way to help you achieve your 5-a-Day.

BEAN ‘POTJIE’
(Portions: 4 - 6)

500 g cooked brown or white beans
2 onions, chopped
2 green peppers, chopped
10 ml oil
500 g oxtail, sliced into bite-sized pieces
1 cube of beef stock, dissolved in
500 ml hot water
6 potatoes, peeled and diced
3 carrots, sliced
5 ml mustard powder
75 ml peach chutney
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Fry the onion and green peppers until soft.
2. Add the oxtail and stir until brown.
3. Add the stock, bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
4. Add the beans, diced potatoes, carrots and seasoning.
5. Simmer gently, without stirring, for a further 45 – 60 minutes. Stir thoroughly before serving.

Hints:

• Replace the potatoes and carrots with 15 baby potatoes and 10 baby carrots.
• Oxtail can be replaced with chicken pieces.