Yea, just on a whim and partly to stock some emergency food supplies, I suggested the wife try some instant mashed potatoes. You know, for emergencies and the occasional quick easy meal.

She picked up some "Idahoan Mashed Potatoes" at Walmart. They were actually OK, very edible at least. I guess instant potatoes have come a long way and I made the mistake of telling the wife that.

Now, we have always often had mashed potatoes... but I haven't seen a real one at home in a year!

Cheap... ~99 cent for a package that is rated for 4 servings.
Several flavors to choose from.
Easy... just add water.
Fast... microwave, 3-4 min.

Guess I can't blame her, but she even served them Thanksgiving to our 17 guest!

Oh well, I have self inflicted, again.

You could always make them yourself though, right?

Do like the public school used to do. Mix in one or two sorta lumpy potatoes to keep 'em guessing.

Nope. The real thing is super easy and much better.

The instants aren't bad, but are still no substitute for the real thing.

quote:

Originally posted by Paten:
You could always make them yourself though, right?

LOL! I suppose... first time for everything they say.

Just need to find a good restaurant that doesn't leave the peeling in them to get my fix on occasion.

Man, if I live to be 100 I'll never forget my Grandmothers mashed potatoes. They were the best ever, with my Mom's a close second.

Blasphemer.

Butter and a few spices, all is O.K..

quote:

Originally posted by Paten:
You could always make them yourself though, right?

OMG, that's so offensive. He could be Italian or something!

quote:

Originally posted by cparktd:
Guess I can't blame her, but she even served them Thanksgiving to our 17 guest!

Damn, I got's no words.

And your location says Tennessee...?

No self respecting Southern Woman would serve instant anything at Thanksgiving, much less potatoes.

Hopefully the Turkey and dressing was real.

The Bob Evans frozen ones are better than most people's homemade. They keep them near sliced meat here. Toss them in the microwave and done. I could make a meal out of them.

quote:

Guess I can't blame her, but she even served them Thanksgiving to our 17 guest!

Wait, what?!?!

You just don't do that, whatever you do, you don't do that. Ho Lee Fuk. Wow.

Granted I have not had any instant potatoes (knowingly) in 20+ years, possibly at a restaurant like Popeye's, maybe. I seriously can not believe that there has been a major breakthrough in instant potato technology since then.

Please don't let her serve those to guests, if it's the two of you, whatever floats your boat. Just never serve that to guests, especially family. The chatty Kathy's will be making fun of her behind her back.

Since I bought my freeze-dryer, my opinions have changed some.

Instant potatoes are just freeze-dried mashed potatoes. Water removed, water replaced.

No difference.

I don't even remember the last time I had real mashed potatoes. Idahoan is what we use as well. They are good.

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:
Since I bought my freeze-dryer, my opinions have changed some.

Instant potatoes are just freeze-dried mashed potatoes. Water removed, water replaced.

No difference.

The Idahoan's are pretty good and actually have a similar consistency to real mashed potatoes. I eat them on occasion. That is until you read the ingredients and all of the crap they put into them.

quote:

Originally posted by jimmy123x:
The Idahoan's are pretty good and actually have a
similar consistency to real mashed potatoes. I eat them on occasion. That is until you read the ingredients and all of the crap they put into them.

True enough. The big manufacturers do put in a bunch of crap that nobody needs to eat, but I've made a ton of instant potatoes (with bacon, sour cream, chives, you name it in the flavor variety) and they are no different than "real" mashed taters once reconstituted.

Read the Nutrition panel on that box of mashed potatoes and I suspect that you will find the Sodium content is rather high, Probably in excess of 480 mg per serving. Then read about the effect of excess sodium intake on the Heart, Kidneys, and Live. IT will also increase blood pressure.

Yeah, I'm on a low sodium diet. Having to have a Mitral Valve Repair and Triple Bypass can be a real eye opener.

So I now actually look at these labels and have found food items that either have to be totally eliminated from my diet. The obvious front runner is Bacon, but I also can't have almost anything in a can except for canned corn. No Soup, No canned tomatoes, no frozen dinners, absolutely no restaurant food. As for "low sodium" products, those are on the severely limit intake list.

My advice is that if you want healthy mashed potatoes you will need to use real potatoes. Note, peel some Russet Potatoes and steam them in a Steamer for about 40 minutes and you wouldn't ever consider boxed mashed potatoes as acceptable. I would also suggest you use Olive Oil instead of Butter. If you want a hint of salt flavor try blending in a small amount of lemon juice and white vinegar. I will also note that Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme aren't just a song, they are seasonings that are fantastic with any type of Potatoe, be them baked, mashed, or sauteed at a reduced temperature in some higher quality Olive Oil.

quote:

Originally posted by Oz_Shadow:
The Bob Evans frozen ones are better than most people's homemade. They keep them near sliced meat here. Toss them in the microwave and done. I could make a meal out of them.

^^^THIS X 1000^^^

Be careful of the cauliflower version of mashed potatoes! They (the Food Conspiracy folks!) are trying to make cauliflower into this year’s version of kale.

quote:

Originally posted by 2BobTanner:
Be careful of the cauliflower version of mashed potatoes! They (the Food Conspiracy folks!) are trying to make cauliflower into this year’s version of kale.

wife brought that crap home a week or so ago,

nasty,


just freaking nasty