From Fiona Haynes,
Your Guide to Low Fat Cooking.
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Sometimes a recipe will suggest serving skinny mashed potatoes alongside an entrée. A few people have asked what we mean by skinny mashed potatoes.

A. Regular mashed potatoes usually call for cream and butter to be added. Simply put, skinny mashed potatoes are made by substituting nonfat or low-fat milk or buttermilk—or fat-free broth—in place of cream, whole milk and butter. I also like to use fat-free sour cream or low-fat plain yogurt as cream and whole milk substitutes, too. Fat-free half and half and fat-free evaporated milk are also great alternatives.

You can add flavor to skinny mashed potatoes by adding some crushed roasted garlic, a little chopped chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, or a simple blend of fresh or dried herbs to give them added interest.

If you want that buttery flavor without the butter, use butter-flavored sprinkles (such as Butter Buds), or go ahead and add just one tablespoon of butter as a special treat.

As always, go easy on portion sizes. A serving size of mashed potatoes should really be no more than a half cup.

Try this almost fat-free recipe for garlic mashed potatoes.