Photo Illustration Courtesy of junior Linnaea Marks    

  What food would SLOHS students live off of for life?

Surely, the majority of students at San Luis Obispo High School answered potatoes.

Potatoes, a starchy vegetable, and good carbohydrates are also very diverse in the vast abilities to cook and eat them. The common way being fried, mashed, or diced but the dishes are endless. French fries, Potato salad, mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, rosemary potatoes, potato and leek soup, potato chips, cheesy potato casserole, and oven-roasted potatoes are just some of the most popular dishes. There are about two hundred different types of potatoes.

Different countries use different types of potatoes and thus make different dishes. In America people tend to like the most unhealthy version of potatoes, this may go hand and hand with our obesity problem, but as well stigmatizes potatoes as being unhealthy. 

  “I loved loaded tots because they are just so comforting,” said senior Sophie Beaton.

  Although these favorites lean on the side of unhealthy, there’s no denying that they are not good, and contrary to what people think, it’s not the oil or salt that truly makes them, it’s the potato.

But there are healthy options that even vegans can enjoy. Let’s run with the french fries example, french fries made at Mcdonald’s for example contain 378 calories for a medium size. But, if you were to get potatoes and make them yourself a serving size of ¾  a cup would only be 98 calories. The main point is potatoes are diverse even in one single recipe and show potential in being healthy and of course, being fattening, almost like how Mr. Potato’s head can be dressed and undressed, it’s just to your liking. 

  “I have to say I really like Potatoes, they’re good with everything. My favorite dish with potatoes is mashed potatoes and gravy. Potatoes are good but what comes with them is even better. Such as Thanksgiving and Christmas where potatoes bring people together, specifically to the dinner table,” said freshmen Caden Gray.

  Let’s face it, when it comes to potatoes we want to see them as a quick and easy snack like a french fry but in reality, they stand for much more. They are our comfort after a long day, our savior after a long night, our friend after a betrayal, and most importantly are reasons to get together whether it be a major holiday or a normal hump day.

So when all else fails and you can’t seem to find anything alike with someone, look and see the little potato in every single one of us.