Breaking the Potato Paradigm with Summer Squash

I love potatoes. I can go through a bag of potato chips by myself no problem. I've been known to have fourths on mashed potatoes on several occasions. And I love hashbrowns with my breakfast. Unfortunately, there is really no way to eat potatoes in the large quantities due to their extremely high glycemic index.

What is the GI? It's not a marketing ploy--it's actually important, considering it gives you an idea of what kinds of foods, eaten in large quantities, abuse your system in a way that can eventually lead to Type-2 Diabetes. As someone who is already at risk aside from the apparent family tendency towards insulin resistance, I have to be aware of these things. If you are living in the U.S., where diabetes is the fastest growing disease in the country, so do you.

According to the Glycemic Index Foundation:

The glycemic index (GI) is a ranking of carbohydrates on a scale from 0 to 100 according to the extent to which they raise blood sugar levels after eating. Foods with a high GI are those which are rapidly digested and absorbed and result in marked fluctuations in blood sugar levels. Low-GI foods, by virtue of their slow digestion and absorption, produce gradual rises in blood sugar and insulin levels, and have proven benefits for health. Low GI diets have been shown to improve both glucose and lipid levels in people with diabetes (type 1 and type 2). They have benefits for weight control because they help control appetite and delay hunger. Low GI diets also reduce insulin levels and insulin resistance.

Recent studies from Harvard School of Public Health indicate that the risks of diseases such as type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease are strongly related to the GI of the overall diet. In 1999, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) recommended that people in industrialised countries base their diets on low-GI foods in order to prevent the most common diseases of affluence, such as coronary heart disease, diabetes and obesity. (http://www.glycemicindex.com/) 

That's right, we in the U.S. are such idiots about our foods that we suffer from diseases of "affluence." In other words, we're too rich to eat well.

Foods with a GI of over 55 are considered "high." Plain refined sugar has a GI of 84-100. Honey = 87. Jasmine white rice = 89. Of course, these ratings are more complicated than just a plain number, with lots of other aspects that affect their nutritional qualities and how they are digested. But generally speaking, it's safe to say that the higher the number, the smaller portions of those items you should be integrating into your daily diet.

A plain, baked Russet potato (like the kind you get from Idaho) has a GI of 94-111. That's right, some foods are so bad for you that they actually have to go over the standard GI scale to be measured. So much for hashbrowns.

I'll probably talk a lot about how to replace at least some of the potatoes in a recipe with some other vegetable with a lower GI and more nutritional value per serving. For today, though, I have to introduce a sublime recipe for zucchini latkes I've been messing around with. Like many summer squash (which you can easily substitute for this recipe), zucchini is amazing for you. To begin with, its primary ingredient is water, which explains why a 300 gram zucchini is only 50 calories. No one gets enough water, not even you, and even thought cooked zucchini certainly loses some of its water content, a lot of it is still present. Zucchini is also relatively high in fiber (you'll get none of that from a potato, I promise!), and actually include a few grams of protein per serving, along with a nice dose of Vitamins A and C. Hard to go wrong here.

Zucchini Latkes:


1 medium zucchini
1/2 sweet onion
1 egg, whisked
2 tablespoons of whole wheat flour
1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1 tbsp grapeseed oil (or another neutral oil with a high burn temperature).
1 tsp curry powder
salt to taste
Pinch of cayenne

Topping:
1 tbsp plain (nonfat) Greek yogurt
Diced heirloom tomato

Chop or shred the zucchini into fine pieces, hashbrown style. A shredder attachment on a food processor works really well for this, but if you don't have one, just chop the zucchini as finely as you can. Chop the onion into the smallest pieces possible, so it blends well into the mixture.

In a large bowl, whisk together the egg and flour to make mild paste. Add the curry powder and cayenne and salt. Stir in the the zucchini, onion, and parmesan cheese. Other good cheese substitutes that produce very different flavors: crumbled goat cheese, feta, cotija, or paneer.

Heat the oil on a nonstick skillet at medium heat. Wait a few minutes so the surface is nice and hot--this is important if you want your latkes a little crispy. Once it's hot, scoop out spoonfuls of the mixture onto the frying pan.

Cook for 1-2 minutes before flipping to the other side to do the same. I usually make small latkes, about 1 1/2" diameter, which renders 8 latkes at approximately 45 calories per latke.


Top with a dollop of greek yogurt or cottage cheese and diced tomatoes. Excellent accompanied with eggs and a couple strips of bacon. Total calories for the meal below = 460. Not too shabby.

If you're dying for some potatoes and don't mind adding a few extra calories, you can shred some and mix with the zucchini. You'll need to cook them a little longer, so lower the heat proportionally so they don't burn in the process. Do yourself a favor and don't use russets! Smaller, more colorful potatoes tend to have a lower GI, so go with those. They are more flavorful anyway, so you can't lose.