My husband is the kind of man that old country songs are about. The kind of man who has a gun in his truck, drives a pickup, hunts, has a big beard and eats steak and potatoes every night.

He absolutely loves baked potatoes. He would eat them every day if I would let him, but I would get bored with that, so I mix it up. Some days its fries others its mashed and in the summer they’re baked on the barbecue. I also like to mix up the variety too. My favorite are red potatoes, but we also enjoy Yukon golds and russets.

I will admit that I don’t enjoy potatoes quite as much as he does. Part of the reason is because I don’t like to eat them as frequently as he does and the other part is because I’m a bit leary of too many carbs. I love carbs, but I try to eat more fruits, veggies and proteins than I do carbs. If I’m going to eat carbs, I would eat bread. I love breads. So, if I want to use my carb allowance for the day, I’m going to use it on a bagel or a scone or a cupcake, not a potato.

I fear that the fear of carbs is what is killing the love of potatoes. In the past almost 20 years the consumption of all types of potatoes has decreased by just about 25%. That’s quite a decline. Thanks a lot kale chips and veggie straws for taking a bite out of the potato chip market. We used to have normal flavors of chips like barbecue, sour cream and onion and cheddar. Now because potato chip companies are trying to get their sales back we have to suffer through gimmicky flavors like cappuccino, bacon mac & cheese and cheeseburger.

You can do your part to help end the potato crisis that is happening right now. Eat more potatoes. It doesn’t matter what kind, chips, mashed, fries, hash browns or tots. Just eat them and we can end this potato crisis together.

Joy Larson is a mother of four boys, graduate of the University of Montana, animal lover and writer.

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