If you are a low-carb dieter, you probably have heard that you should avoid white potatoes. The white potato category includes red potatoes, yellow potatoes, and brown potatoes — basically, anything besides yams and sweet potatoes. Some people avoid white potatoes, along with eggplant, peppers, and other nightshade vegetables, for other reasons, One common concern is that these may make arthtitis worse.

If you are among the potato-avoiders and you miss your spuds, there are a number of ways to get a similar dish using other veggies.

Try some of these ideas, and you may find your cravings diminished to a tolerable state. And for the low-carbers, remember that you can have a little bit of real potato every now and then, particularly if accompanied by some protein to temper the glycemic effect.

What’s a party without a tableful of great snacks? Chips and dips, crackers and cheese, crunchy things and creamy things? Not much fun, that's for sure.

But if you are watching your weight (go down), you have to be careful not to overindulge on high-calorie, nutrient-poor munchies. Does this mean that your parties will be a big, bland bore? No way!

Vegetarian meat substitutes are a great way to sneak vegetables into your family’s diet, or just to lighten up a bit from heavier fare. This recipe is great for sandwiches, or as a party spread with bread or crackers (whole-grain, please!), or celery sticks.

Bakon bits (soy bacon) are available in any supermarket, and Gimme Lean can be found in health food stores and in many supermarkets (Look for it in the produce section).

One of my favorite breakfast dishes is fried tomatoes. Not green tomatoes, for the most part, but red ones. The recipe is simple. Cut tomatoes into thick slices, dust with flour and cornmeal, and fry. Well, there are several very good reasons why I don’t make this dish anymore.

For one thing, most of my current frying pans are cast-iron. Cast-iron doesn’t take kindly to acidy foods like tomatoes (that’s why canned tomatoes often have a short shelf life — tomatoes are notoriously rough on cans).

Another important reason is the calories. In order to fry properly, a certain minimum amount of hot oil is necessary. Cooking oil is fat.

Are you bored with your food because you don’t have time to cook fancy meals? Dress up a plain old sandwich or soup with side dishes. These don’t have to be time-consuming or work-intensive, and they can add lots of excitement to an otherwise ho-hum-cooked meal.

Keep some of these in your pantry and fridge, and put small dishes of one or two items on the table when you serve lunch, dinner, or supper. Do this often, and see how much more interesting your meals become!

Potatoes are the most popular vegetable in the world, and fries ("French" fries) are the most popular way to eat them. Everywhere you go, almost every restaurant has fries. These are usually thin-cut, peeled potatoes, deep-fried in some kind of oil. The oil is often re-used for several batches, sometimes even re-used for several days(!), and eventually discarded.

The traditional method of making fries entails soaking the raw potato strips in ice water, then drying them, then frying them twice. The first frying cooks the pieces but does not brown them, and the second frying browns the outside to the desired golden-brown color and crispy texture. Many fast-food places fry them only once, usually because they buy the potato pieces partially pre-cooked, so they are really just finishing the cooking there. Properly-cooked fries are crispy outside and soft inside. Poorly-made fries are soggy or greasy.

What do you think of when you think of coconut? A candy bar? A tree full of hard-to-crack nuts? A Marx Brothers movie? It's all that, and more!

Unfortunately, due to a long stream of negative public relations, coconut has lost its rightful place as a wonder food. Coconut oil shortages during WWII led to the opportunistic introduction of unhealthful hydrogenated oils in place of healthful coconut oil. Since then, coconut has been systematically demonized as a "bad fat".

Coconut oil is a saturated fat. However, it is a medium-chain fatty acid, which is a most unusual type of fat. Whereas hydrogenated fats and other saturated fats are harmful, coconut oil is one of the healthiest fats in existence. It is a very healthful food. Plus you can use it as a face cream, and even as a conditioner for dry hair.

Try these when you want a healthy and delicious snack.

Egg Rolls

1 pkg egg roll wrappers (with eggs or eggless)
1 Tbs cornstarch + 2 Tbs water (mix together)
1/4 cup shredded onion
1/2 cup shredded cabbage
1/4 cup shredded carrot
1/4 cup shredded celery
1/4 cup mung bean sprouts
1/4 cup finely chopped ham, soy ham, Seitan, or Tofu (optional)
1 Tbs oil
1/2 tsp sugar

In large pan or wok, heat oil to medium.
Sauté onion until it begins to soften.
Add sugar, and stir to coat.
Add other vegetables, and sauté until they are crisp-tender.
Add ham, Seitan or Tofu and cook briefly.
Let cool.
Put 1 wrapper in front of you, with a point towards you.
Put 3 Tbs of the filling in a line across the wrapper, below the middle, left to right.
Take the end pointing towards you, and fold it over the filling.
Fold the side flaps over, pointing towards each other.
Roll wrapper away from you, enclosing the filling.