It’s no wonder mashed potatoes are such a popular comfort food.  With gobs of butter and cream added, they posses such a creamy, rich flavor.  It was essential to create a mash potato that could stand up to the best of them.  With so few ingredients to work with, it was important that it tasted rich and velvety.  I used reduced-fat milk to replace the cream and a reduced-fat butter.  Mission accomplished!  The skinny for 1 serving, 123 calories, 3 grams of fat and 3 Weight Watchers POINTS PLUS.

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

1½ lbs. red potatoes, scrubbed and cut into even sized large chunks

2 tablespoons reduced-fat butter or a reduced-fat spread such as Smart Balance Light

¾ to 1 cup reduced-fat (2%) milk

¼ cup fresh chives, chopped fine

Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Place potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with cold water.  Bring to boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer until fork tender (approximately 15-20 minutes).

2. Drain potatoes into a colander and place drained potatoes back in the saucepan.

3. Add the reduced-fat butter, milk, chives, salt and pepper to the hot potatoes.

4. Turn the flame to medium and smash potatoes with a fork and cut with a knife until blended and all the ingredients are heated.

5. To serve, spoon out ½ cup serving.

6. This recipe can be doubled, tripled, and so on.

Serves 6 (each serving, ½ cup)

Food Fact
Red potatoes, (new potatoes) are commonly referred to as boiling potatoes. They have a waxy flesh that contains less starch and more moisture than the Russet potato (brown baking potato). This makes them perfect for mashed potatoes.

Healthy Benefit
Over the years, potatoes have gotten a bad rap.  They really shouldn’t because a medium size spud has only 110 calories and are naturally fat free.  They’re high in vitamin C and have more potassium than a banana.  They also contain fiber and iron.

Weight Watchers (old points) 2
Weight Watchers POINTS PLUS 3