Mmm … french fries. How many times are we tempted to order them at a restaurant. Pretty much any time we order a burger or a chicken sandwich, fries are our side of choice. These days, many people are turning to sweet potato fries as a “healthier” option, but whether or not they are actually healthier depends on a number of factors.
What makes fries so unhealthy? Most of the time, they are fried in unnatural, processed, hydrogenated oils like vegetable oil or canola oil. (Don’t let the name “vegetable oil” fool you – that stuff is actually made from rancid vegetables and unnatural fragrances to mask the horrible smell you’d likely get when opening a bottle. And there’s no such thing as a canola plant…)
This homemade sweet potato fries recipe uses grapeseed oil which is great for cooking, since it has a low smoke point. Oils that have a high smoke point, such as olive oil, turn into unhealthy trans fats when heated, so you want to make sure you use oils with low smoke points when cooking. Also, these fries are baked instead of fried, and seasoned with sea salt, cilantro and lemon zest. They have great flavor – so great, in fact, you won’t even be tempted to dip them in ranch dressing! And I highly recommend that you don’t.
Tip: These homemade sweet potato fries are great to serve with grilled grass-fed burgers!
Ingredients:
4 medium organic sweet potatoes cut into ¼ match sticks
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
Lemon zest
4 tablespoons chopped cilantro
½ tsp Kosher sea salt
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly oil baking sheet. Combine oil, sweet potatoes, lemon zest, chopped cilantro and sea salt in bowl and gently toss. Place on baking sheet and put in oven for 35-40 minutes or until golden and crisp. For even baking, stir 1-2 times throughout. Serve immediately and garnish with parsley.
