Mashed Potatoes for Mo

Photo courtesy of I Believe I Can Fry

My friend John G. first introduced me to a similar dish at a delicious dinner with him and others at his home in Denver.  I've since experimented to try to recreate the dish.  Here is the result of my experiments.

My wonderful friend Maureen -aka Mo- is allergic to plants in the Nightshade family such as potatoes, tomatoes, peppers and eggplant.  This allergy put a real damper on enjoying homemade mashed potatoes.

Similarly, white potatoes high glycemic index make them more of a no-no for diabetics.  This wonderful recipe is so good and similar in texture and flavor to mashed potatoes that you may fool your family -and even your own tastebuds!

• 1 clove of garlic
• 1/2 an onion, minced
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• Salt
• 3/4 cup of chicken or vegetable stock
• 1 can of cooked cannellini beans (cannellini beans are white kidney beans)

Saute the onion with a dash of salt until translucent (about 3 minutes) in the oil over medium heat.  Add the garlic and cook until the garlic is just barely beginning to brown.  

Add your chicken stock and cannellini beans.

When the beans and stock are nicely simmering, mash the beans into the consistency of good mashed potatoes.   You may optionally wish to add butter and/or cream at this step to increase the flavor -and calories.

Serve and enjoy.

OPTIONS:  You may enjoy adding butter and cream to your mashed beans the way you would when making homemade mashed potatoes.  I've also made this dish with more cooked garlic to make a type of faux garlic mashed potatoes.  The recipe lends itself to other potato dishes such as adding rosemary to the beans or melting cheese into the mashed beans.

DIETS:
Diabetic:  yes
Gluten Free:  yes
Nightshade Family Free:  yes
Paleo:  no (has beans)
SugarBusters:  yes
Sugar Free:  yes
Vegan:  yes* (must use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock)
Vegetarian:  yes* (must use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock)
Wheat Free:  yes
200 Calories or Under:  yes* (if you only 1/2 cup)

Notice:  Be sure to check with your doctor and nutritionist about the safety of any eating plan for you.  Also, check ingredients as different brands and products may have different ingredients or have changed them since this post.  Some calories are estimates based on packaging.