Skinny Potatoes

Can the easy-to-cook, inexpensive, low-fat potato—the ubiquitous "spud"—turn up with chicken and peanuts as the star of an exotic stir-fry? Can plump baked potatoes, topped with everything from shrimps and tofu to chicken and chili, win acclaim as delicious one-course meals? Emphatically yes, as these 100-plus recipes prove.

Barbara Grunes, known nationally for her innovative and nutritionally aware recipes, makes it easy for both novice and seasoned cooks to transform "bakers," "broilers," red, new, sweet, and every other kind of potato into imaginative appetizers, hearty soups, exciting stir-frys, 10 different potato salads, a dozen outdoor barbecues, and delicious side dishes, breads—even desserts.

To "top" it off, Grunes presents no less than 24 luscious, low-fat toppings that recreate baked potatoes as main-course delights.

Top your "bakers" with Thai shrimp, eggplant Parmesan, ratatouille, Moroccan chicken, turkey chili, Cantonese stir-fry, Spanakopita, asparagus and mushrooms, tofu Veracruzana, Provencal vegetables, mushrooms and cheese, and many other ingredients. This book also includes appetizers, soups, salads, entrees, and side dishes: Vichyssoise, German potato salad, calm chowder, goulash soup, Oriental steamed potatoes, grilled sweets with pineapple, grilled skins and salsa, Colcannon tandoori kabobs, Cuban mashed potato pudding, potato biscuits, Bohemian dessert pancakes, potato-zucchini pancakes, and many more!

The most health-happy collection of its kind, these recipes deliver not only the great taste but also the incredible nutrition of the potato as a low-fat complex carbohydrate that's cholesterol-free and literally loaded with potassium, vitamin C, and fiber.