Mashed potatoes, for instance, appear on the menu just once.

NEWYORKER: Whitehall

Stop yourself and focus on the fact that you chose salmon and peas for dinner and ate two helpings of mashed potatoes -- compared with the cheeseburger and French fries you would have eaten two years ago.

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My daughters and I managed to rouse ourselves one afternoon after skiing at Moonlight Basin to go to the spa and one night to take a Sno-Cat ride two miles into the back country in the dark for an excellent dinner (tenderloin and mashed potatoes followed by chocolate fondue) in a big, heated yurt, courtesy of Moonlight Dinners.

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For example, Welch says if you have an extra helping of mashed potatoes, don't beat yourself up.

CNN: Tired of slights, embarrassment, man sheds 87 pounds

"I've been wanting to help out like this for a few years, " said Schwimmer as he dished up mashed potatoes.

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Kelly for the area's signature dish: handmade beef pies, served with mashed potatoes drenched in parsley sauce.

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Here you can eschew standard American eats for traditional English fare such as bangers and mash (English style sausage and homemade mashed potatoes) or the Ploughmans Lunch, which features slices of English cheddar and Stilton cheeses, tomato, cucumber and beets on a roll.

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