We’re in the “it’s good-for-you” camp. Why? First, we favor foods that come from nature. A potato is a whole, unadulterated food ... so it’s got that going for it. As a whole food and, specifically, a starchy vegetable, it has a lot of nutrition: a single medium potato with the skin gives you 5 grams of fiber, 4 grams of protein, 70 percent of your daily vitamin C and 30 percent of your B6, and is a good source of many other vitamins and minerals, including potassium, other B vitamins, phosphorus and magnesium.

Moreover, potatoes have a host of phytochemicals, natural compounds linked to a variety of health benefits (keep the skin on for the biggest boons). Make sure to get a variety of potatoes in your diet. Purple potatoes are chock-full of anthocyanins and chlorogenic acid (which may actually lower the glycemic index of potatoes), whereas yellow-fleshed potatoes have the most folate.

A small amount of Gruyère cheese gives these slimmed-down scalloped potatoes a whole lot of flavor.

Reduced-fat chive cream cheese give these hearty twice-baked potatoes a whole lot of flavor.

Lemon brightens flavorful fingerling potatoes.

French fries don’t need to be deep-fried in order to be crispy and delicious ... who knew?!

Crispy, panko-crusted potato cakes get mega-flavor from bacon and cheddar ... but modest amounts of both keep these healthy!

Kerri-Ann is a registered dietitian who writes on food and health trends. Find more of her work at kerriannjennings.com or follow her on Twitter @kerriannrd or Facebook.