STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

Are french fries vegetables?

I'm not surprised at all. The USDA says unrefined/unprocessed fruits, veggies, grains, beans, nuts, seeds and other whole plant-based foods are only 7% of the average American's diet. Potato-based foods (such as french fries and potato chips) are two of that seven percent. So on balance, the single veggie we eat most is potatoes.

Why would toddlers be different than the people who feed them?

Since potatoes grow in soil and perform photosynthesis, they are a plant, and a vegetable because botanically they aren't classed as a fruit or a grass. Plus, we tend to call all underground growers like roots (radish, beet, or carrot) "vegetables" except for peanuts. Long story, that peanut thing. As vegetables go, though, potatoes are not that nutrient-dense no matter how you cook 'em, so lots of people don't use them as a vegetable in the culinary sense.

Discussions like these are why cooks and gardeners have really wild parties. :eyeroll:

Pie chart of dietary consumption (link opens PDF):

http://www.bellport.com/healthylunches/BigPieChartColor.pdf

Suasoria wrote:

---

As vegetables go, though, potatoes are not that nutrient-dense no matter how you cook 'em, so lots of people don't use them as a vegetable in the culinary sense.

---

Actually, potatoes are a great source of quite a few vitamins and minerals. Depending on the potato they're super high in potassium (more than banannas, actually!), folic acid, iron, and and fiber. They're also really high in Vitamin C.

However, to get most of these benefits, you have to keep the skin on which a good many people don't like and you can't really coat them in oil and fry them. Sorta defeats the purpose, ya know? And eating a bag of frozen french fries is just not going to work. But french fries that use a small amount of a good olive oil and then baked in a really hot oven (lay them on an oven-proof cookie rack so that the air can circulate under) are okay.

That chart said it's by calorie consumption, not mass or volume. Vegetables are pretty low in calories and processed foods are pretty high, right? I'm not sure that's representative of a plate of food, for example. But I really don't know a whole lot about the calorie content of different foods because I've never paid a whole lot of attention, so I don't know how to "convert" that to actual amounts of food in my head.

I don't know why I thought potatoes didn't qualify as a vegetable. I think that's what my mom told me growing up - but maybe that was to keep me from justifying massive amounts of fries and cheesy mashed potatoes

But if it's actually true that toddlers eat french fries more than any other vegetable, that's really sad. I don't even remember the last time I ate a french fry...so hopefully, if I was taking care of a kid right now, it'd be the same way for him/her.


-- Edited by ttara123 at 12:37, 2009-01-15

I heard this before I even had children and I never believed it would be true of my kids...but well...stress and other things out of my control happened. I am guilty.  Still, my kids probably only have fries about three times a month, and that's when they are with dad and grandma. 

I grew up with a mom who only allowed health food.  I was a somewhat selective eater then too, but I would eat plenty of green from age 0-5.  I remember actually liking cooked spinach with cheddar cheese melted on top.  By the time my brother and sister came along, my mom gave up the cause because they were very selective and just would not eat veggies. 

I have two boys, aged 2 and 4.  Eating healthy, especially without support of my spouse and with a lot of other emotional stressors in my life right now, is very challenging!  I am not defending myself, but I strongly believe that some kids are just going to give a parent more trouble with eating veggies than others.  My younger one likes everything and always has, even eats salad, but the older one has been a selective eater as far back as when he was first introduced to strained peas in a jar!  It was such a frustrating time for me, but it's just the way he is.  He never liked green veggies, he did go through a phase where he liked my steamed asparagus tips, but today he just refuses.  I have wasted a lot of green vegetables in my quest.  He might eat a few green beans here and there and leave the rest on his plate, but if given a box of fries, it's a guarantee he'll eat them all.

Anyway, as much as we savvy adults know better, french fries do have an opiate quality that will remain unmatched against a toddler's brain.  Fries taste really good and toddlers don't know what's healthy.  I find it no surprise that it's the potato is the "vegetable" they eat the most of.  I am just happy that Chick Fil A, the fast food restaurant we frequent the most, has a fruit cup option both my kids love, so we avoid fries probably 95% of the time.  It's getting easier out there, as the typical happy meal isn't the only fast and quick option for busy moms.  Did anyone notice that so much changed in fast food after that movie, Super Size Me? 

I admit my kids each french fries a few times a month when we go someplace like McDonald's, but even then they don't even eat half the bag. I see no harm in the occassional indulgence. Fortunately my kids like plenty of other veggies other than the fried sorts too.

blink wrote:

---

  Still, my kids probably only have fries about three times a month, and that's when they are with dad and grandma. 

---

This is true...when you leave them with someone else, you can't guarantee that person will feed them what you would have. I think part of the attraction it is how easy it is for them to eat considering most aren't that great with a fork and spoon yet. Another part is that they can dip it in ketchup. I couldn't get my toddler to eat chicken nuggets  until I showed him how to dip them and now he loves them. He's never really been picky with vegetables but I use the dipping trick with those too if I notice he's not eating as many. I also really like how the fast food places offer smarter choices with the happy meals. I've even heard "healthy snack" bits on Nickelodeon in between cartoons. One I heard was talking about how eating potato chips is just like eating a certain amount of oil (2 cups or something I think it said) and how it was just gross.