I Admit, I Like Instant Mashed Potatoes.

[Remy]

I have very unsophisticated taste. Clearly. I found the Bob's Red Mill instant mashed potatoes. They contain nothing but the potato flakes. And I think they are good.

I also like the Better Than Bullion in the jars. I get the vegetable and it will last in the fridge for months. I've never had it go bad before I use it. The jar lid sticks like crazy though.

I also make my own crumbles with textured vegetable protein (it's cheap) and I'll make spaghetti with it or add taco seasoning for nachos.

 

[Gaer]

I use the potato flakes but I make them with milk, butter and chives. I'll try the Red Mill that you suggested! Thanks!

 

[Remy]

I use the potato flakes but I make them with milk, butter and chives. I'll try the Red Mill that you suggested! Thanks!

I had never seen these before and I can't even remember where I got them, though I think it was a regular grocery store. I used to buy a small box of the instant potatoes at the health food store. This is a decent sized one pound bag and it was decently priced.

 

[Pinky]

We've tried "Just Real Spuds" from Costco. Ingredients: Idaho Potatoes, Butter, Sea Salt. They're very tasty!

 

[Alligatorob]

When in college I had a job unloading box cars. One night we got several loaded with nothing but potato flakes. Boxes broke open and we got coated, all through the night shift.

Avoided them ever since. The smell still reminds me of the forklift exhaust, not a great combination.

 

[Aunt Bea]

Instant potato flakes make a nice coating for oven-fried chicken.

https://www.food.com/recipe/crispy-baked-chicken-made-with-instant-potatoes-254068

 

[Jackie23]

Yes, I like the instant mashed potatoes too, I use milk, butter and a tiny bit of garlic powder....good tip on coating chicken.

 

[jujube]

Funny story about instant potato flakes:

Many years ago the town of Celebration (a "planned community" started by the Disney Corporation near the parks) had a very elaborate Christmas event including a "snowfall".

Now, most artificial snowfalls are some sort of soapsuds blown up and falling down in tiny flakes. BUT, this year, someone thought that instant potato flakes would be more aesthetically pleasing. So far, so good. It looked great and floated down in an entrancing manner. Everyone was highly impressed.......until the next morning when the cleaning crew started to clear up and realized the moist Central Florida humidity-plagued night had turned it into.....here it comes.....MASHED POTATOES......and the morning sun had baked it into a gluey crust. Sidewalks, fences, benches, streetlights, all "en croute". It took days to clean up.

I'm going to bet that whoever's brilliant idea that was, was put in charge of cleaning porta-potties the next year.

 

[RadishRose]

Bob's Red Mill instant mashed potatoes.

I will try these.
Lately I've been using Idahoan.
Surprisingly good.

 

[Ruthanne]

I've liked Instant Potatoes ever since my mom bought them home some 50-60 years ago. We always had Hungry Jack. I've tried others too and liked them. Yum! Good!

 

[Aunt Bea]

A quick potato soup recipe using potato flakes!

https://jp.foundation/video/instant-potato-leek-soup

 

[hollydolly]

Not for me..*ugh*... but I remember when I was a teen, my younger teenage sister used to eat 'smash' straight out of the box ..all dried pieces of processed potato.. she also used to eat the dog biscuits as well..

Vintage Smash advert from the 70's....

 

[JustinCase]

Flakes over meal is sixes.

 

[Lara]

I don't want to be a debbie-downer but...Just be sure you potato-flake-lovers get your daily percentage value of nutrition from other food during the day. The processed flakes lose all nutritional value in the processing except 4% fiber. So basically empty calories.

An unprocessed potato is a good source Vitamin C (70% daily requirement) and also vitamins B1, B3 and B6 (30% daily requirement) and minerals such as potassium (25%), phosphorus and magnesium(12%), and contains folate, pantothenic acid and riboflavin. Potatoes also contain dietary antioxidants, which may play a part in preventing diseases related to aging, and dietary fiber, which benefits health.

 

[Gardenlover]

Right on! I used to live on Tuna Twist.

 

[Irwin]

I tried some but they tasted kind of chemically. I forget what brand they were.

Mashed potatoes are so easy to make, I don't see much of an advantage to instant.

 

[Jules]

Idahoan brand were good to have in the RV. I detest the added flavours, as Irwin said - a chemical taste. If I see the Bob’s Red Mill, I’ll definitely give them a try.

 

[Remy]

I don't want to be a debbie-downer but...Just be sure you potato-flake-lovers get your daily percentage value of nutrition from other food during the day. The processed flakes lose all nutritional value in the processing except 4% fiber. So basically empty calories.

An unprocessed potato is a good source Vitamin C (70% daily requirement) and also vitamins B1, B3 and B6 (30% daily requirement) and minerals such as potassium (25%), phosphorus and magnesium(12%), and contains folate, pantothenic acid and riboflavin. Potatoes also contain dietary antioxidants, which may play a part in preventing diseases related to aging, and dietary fiber, which benefits health.

I agree with you on the nutrition. Probably similar to ramen noodles. But I still like them. And I do agree also that real mashed potatoes are not hard to make, I still like these and it is a little bit easier.

 

[Lara]

I should have added to my comment that there's nothing wrong with eating something without nutritional benefits as long as one doesn't fill up on it and still has enough room to eat mindful portions of whole foods packed with enough nutrition to meet your daily nutritional requirements.

The Good News is that Bob's Red Mill brand boasts of these claims:

"Salt Free, Nitrite Free, Fat Free, Vegan, Dairy Free,
Vegetarian, Caffeine Free, Low Sodium, Wheat Free, Low Fat,
High Fructose Corn Syrup Free, Artificial Color Free, Whole30,
Oil Free, For Cholesterol(?), Lactose Free, Artificial Preservative Free,
Plant Based, No Artificial Ingredients, Peanut Free, No Added Sugar,
Gluten Free, Egg Free, Healthy, Shell Fish Free, Kosher"

 

[Lara]

The Good News is that Bob's Red Mill brand boasts of these claims:
"Salt Free, Nitrite Free, Fat Free, Vegan, Dairy Free,
Vegetarian, Caffeine Free, Low Sodium, Wheat Free, Low Fat,
High Fructose Corn Syrup Free, Artificial Color Free, Whole30,
Oil Free, For Cholesterol(?), Lactose Free, Artificial Preservative Free,
Plant Based, No Artificial Ingredients, Peanut Free, No Added Sugar,
Gluten Free, Egg Free, Healthy, Shell Fish Free, Kosher"

Sounds impressive but then again...of course mashed potatoes don't have those things in it.
Who adds shell fish, eggs, sugar, peanuts, coffee, color dye, and nitrates to their mashed potatoes?

 

[Capt Lightning]

I certainly remember the "For Mash take Smash" ads on the TV.

I only ever used instant mash for convenience when camping. Ever since owning motorhomes or campervans which had proper cookers, I've always used 'proper' potatoes.

 

[fmdog44]

The less work to make them the better they taste.