Who Says French Fries Are Bad For You?

by Marjan
As far as I'm concerned, potatoes are nutritious and good for you! They contain vitamins and minerals, as well as an assortment of phytochemicals, such as carotenoids and natural phenols. It is unfortunate as I think potatoes have a bad rap due to its high carbohydrate count (‘the anti-carb’ campaign really did not do the potato justice!) and most people like them either fried or smothered with butter or sour cream. I for one am guilty of all of the above! My favorite seduction is French Fries! After all, I have often said it is my ‘favorite food group’; sounds hideous, I know! Leave me be! Please!

Since my top three food groups are French fries, bacon and butter (go ahead, laugh, I know I’m crazy, but can you imagine if you put all of them together?), there is a deep sense of obligation on my behalf to write an article on French fries!

I have come up with a compromise: rather than frying the potato and killing any nutrition it has, I have come up with a way to bake them in olive oil and season it generously to make it tasty enough to skip the need for ketchup! Is it possible? Yes it is! But of course, if your like me, I can't skip the ketchup! I even used to sneak it into restaurants in France 20 years ago when they refused to serve it. I promise you will not regret trying my version of ‘French fries’; tasty, nutritious, and easy on the waste line with our without ketchup!

Ingredients:

Four medium potatoes cut into French fry size 

½ cup of extra virgin olive oil

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Optional seasonings:

½ - teaspoon thyme; crushed in your hands to release its natural flavor

½ - teaspoon cumin powder
¾ - teaspoon ground chili powder

½ - teaspoon garlic salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Toss the above ingredients in a large bowl to mix evenly throughout. Transfer and spread to cover a large cookie sheet. Bake in oven for thirty minutes. Using a flat edge metal spatula, toss the potatoes around to brown on all sides. Bake for twenty minutes or until fries are crisp and golden!
Season with additional salt and pepper if desired.