Chips as a Healthy Snack???

Sweet Potato Chips

The other night I was trying to figure out what to do with a couple of sweet potatoes I’d gotten in my CSA produce bin, and immediately “sweet potatoes fries” came to mind.

Since I don’t have a good potato slicer or a deep fryer, I had to move on to Plan B. What about chips made of sweet potatoes? This seemed easy enough.

As always Google to the rescue — it quickly told me exactly what I would need and how to go about it. A skillet filled with veg oil heated to 375, a veg slicer, a HUGE stack of paper towels to absorb the grease, and some seasoning, and I was all set.

But, of course, being a health coach, I had to know:

Do deep fried vegetables have a place on my table?

Turns out. YES!!!

If you don’t add the food to the oil until the oil has reached the proper temperature AND you drain away the grease, then the end product ultimately absorbs very little fat. Breaded products absorb considerably more fat than unbreaded, but in the case of my chips, not much fat at all was absorbed.

I’m still not going to do this every day, but it’s a fun and different way to eat potatoes, sweet potatoes, and sunchokes. And, it’s great to know exactly where my food is coming from!