5 Uncommon Cooking Tips for Potatoes at 4th of July and Other Summer Barbecues

It's a match--forgive the cliché--made in heaven: summer barbecues, and especially barbecues for the 4^th of July, are one of America's favorite activities. And potatoes are, in their variety of forms, America's favorite side dish.

From baked to mashed to hashed to French fried ("pommes frîtes" for you fancy folks and francophones, "Freedom fried" for you jackasses), potatoes grace plates at every meal of the day. Potatoes hold high standing as an outdoor food, humbly enjoying wild popularity at barbecues, generally grilled or as potato salad. Summer is here, the 4^th of July fast approaching, the season for barbecues in full swing, so I give you five uncommon cooking tips for potatoes.

But first, in case some of you intend to exclude potatoes from your 4^th of July and other summer barbecues because you've heard potatoes are unhealthy--I implore you, don't do it! 4^th of July and summer barbecues are no place to worry about a diet. But more importantly, it isn't true! Allow the tasty tubers their proper place!

If you're still caught up in that anti-carbohydrate craze, let it go. Make it your summer or 4^th of July resolution. It was just one in a perpetual procession of fad diets. Fad diets don't work long-term, and most are more harmful than helpful. Forget Atkins and South Beach. Carbohydrates, in moderation, are essential for humans. Yes, too many carbs are bad for you--but guess what... too much of anything is bad for you.

Still need health reasons to serve potatoes at your 4^th of July and summer barbecues? Fine. Potatoes are packed with Vitamin C, potassium, and fiber. The average potato has about 620 milligrams of potassium--more than the commonly-credited King of Potassium, the banana. Potatoes are a good source of protein. Plus, average-sized potatoes have only 100 calories, no fat, no cholesterol, and minimal sodium.