Baked is the New Fried: Baked Garlic Sweet Potato Fries

 In our house we try to eat Paleo  during the week.  Adapting favorite recipes and new discoveries has been a fun challenge.  I have been incorporating a TON more veggies into meals.  In an attempt not to get stuck in a rut I have been mixing up the ways I prepare them and I have found some of my new favorite snacks.  Growing up my mom used to make oven fries so I took her recipe and Paleoized (my new word) to make some fabulous and oh-so-easy baked garlic sweet potato fries.    This is now one of the top "go to" recipes in our house!

You will need:

• Sweet potatoes (I do one potato for every two people but you might want leftovers!)
• Olive oil
• Minced garlic (2 cloves per potato) or garlic powder
• Your favorite seasoning salt (I like Johnny's) 
• Pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
2. Wash and peel the sweet potatoes
3. Slice them into thin strips - try to make strips similar in size so they cook evenly
4. Coat the sweet potatoes in olive oil and then sprinkle them with seasoning salt and pepper to taste (if you are using garlic powder add it here)
5. Spread the sweet potatoes out on a baking sheet - make sure they are not stacked on top of each other or overlapping so they cook evenly
6. Pop them in the oven
7. Flip the fries every 10 minutes until golden/dark brown - total baking time varies based on size of fries they usually take 30-50 minutes to cook fully
8. If you are using minced garlic:  when the fries start to turn brown, sprinkle garlic on fries and bake for at least 10 minutes more watching them carefully so they do not burn!
9. Let them cook for a few minutes and enjoy!

Variations:
Mix up the seasoning - these fries are so tasty on their own but if you like spicy things toss some cayenne pepper in with the salt and pepper or  add cinnamon and nutmeg instead of garlic, salt and pepper for a sweeter side dish


Are you doing the Paleo diet?  What are your "go to" recipes?