Potato, All Types, Styles

Low-starch vegetables should be served five times daily. These are the usual items we call vegetables, such as green beans, broccoli, and kale— with the exception of potato, of course. We should also go easy on sweet potato, carrots, and peas, which are starchy-sugary and moderately glycemic.

in 1942, the USDA issued a new food guide that reduced the number of food groups to what they called the "Basic Seven." These were: green and yellow vegetables; oranges, tomatoes, and grapefruit; potatoes and other vegetables and fruit; milk and milk products; meat, poultry, fish, eggs, and dried peas and beans; bread, flour, and cereals; and butter and fortified margarine.

With the creation of the "basic seven", several changes were made from the 12 food groups in the family food plans. "Potatoes and sweet potatoes" have been lumped in with "other vegetables and fruit." "Eggs" and "dry beans, peas, and nuts" are lumped in with "meat, poultry, and fish." The "butter" group has been expanded to "butter and fortified margarine." The word lean has been dropped from the category "lean meat." The "other fats" group and the "sugars" group have disappeared entirely.