In the kitchen with Kelley: Baked Potatoes

For the most part, I am a self-taught cook. But I do recall being taught to bake potatoes. Doing so involved a can of Crisco and some aluminum foil — tasty, but not healthy. For years, I didn’t have the patience to cook potatoes in the oven anyway, so I nuked them if I wanted them “baked.” But that isn’t healthy either, and microwaved potatoes are nowhere near as tasty as oven-baked potatoes. Now that I’m making a concerted effort to feed my family healthier foods, I’ve figured out how to bake potatoes so that they are healthy and tasty.

And, yes, they are healthy if you prepare them correctly. Potatoes get a bad rap because people fry them or smother them in Crisco or do something else to offset their health benefits. But potatoes are chock full of phytonutrients, and they contain vitamin C that acts as an antioxidant. In addition, they are potassium-rich, which is just one of the reason they may help lower blood pressure. So grab some potatoes and get cooking. Just don’t smother them in butter and sour cream when you’re done.

Baked Potatoes

Ingredients

Potatoes
Olive oil
Sea salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
2. Scrub potatoes clean. Cut away any bad spots. Poke holes in the potatoes.
3. Rub olive oil on the potatoes and sprinkle them with sea salt.
4. Place potatoes directly on the rack with a drip pan on the next rack down.
5. Bake at 300 for at least 90 minutes. The larger the potatoes, the longer they need to bake. You can tell if a potato is done by squeezing it gently. If it gives easily, it’s ready.