SPUDS

A familiar word, no doubt. No? A spud is a potato (Webster), and it is my favorite vegetable.

Recently, Dear Daughter and I were lunching and I spied POTATO SOUP on the menu. "That's for me," I said, speaking as one well-acquainted with the item.

My mother had two family favorite soups: potato (my favorite), and vegetable beef, both well-suited for Great Depression menus. Her potato soup contained potatoes, onions, green peppers and whole milk. The vegetable soup contained beef and a slew of veggies, heavy on the onions and tomatoes. Both were tummy-filling dishes for perpetually-hungry kids.

It seems to me that in today's "Foodie World," the spud doesn't get the recognition it deserves as a healthy choice food. Perhaps too many people think of it only as a fast-food French fry. That's regrettable, because it is a real nutritious bargain.

It's a bargain because it offers the advantage of low calories (100 per medium size), almost no fat, and a good source of dietary fiber. This same-sized potato contains Vitamin C (50%), Vitamin B-6 (20%), and Potassium (21%), needed for good health.

The potato is also our most popular vegetable. The average American consumes 126 pounds of potatoes per year.

So, dear friends, when it's "chow-down time," order your spuds boiled, baked, scalloped, or in soup and you'll glow with health.

More, later.