On The Menu: Oven-Baked Sweet Potato Fries

My husband and I are notoriously bad about eating our vegetables...other than potatoes and corn. Not exactly the two healthiest options because they normally get loaded up with butter, sour cream, and salt. So, now that we have a wee bambino, we decided we should probably start incorporating more vegetable dishes into our every day meals. Afterall, if we're going to be buying vegetables for the kiddo to eat, we should set a good example.

I'm pretty lucky in that I like most vegetables. Scott on the other hand... Well let's just say we're doing this in baby steps. I figured we could start with "fries" - of the sweet potato variety. And these were so good and we got plenty of our beta carotene in! These are a great, healthy alternative to a fried russet potato. The recipe I found is slightly adapted from the one found at Simply Recipes.

These fries are pretty sweet, so it's almost like having dessert + vegetables all in one dish. The bonus: only a tablespoon of sugar!

Ingredients:
(serves two - baking times vary by oven)

- Two large sweet potatoes, peeled
- 1 T sugar
- 1/2 T kosher salt
- 2 T pumpkin pie spice (or you can make your own combining cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and ginger)
- 1/4 C extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

1. Line a baking sheet with foil. Place a wire cooling rack on top of the baking sheet. This prevents you from having to flip the sweet potatoes halfway through the cooking time. Preheat your oven to 500° F.
2. Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise, then across. Cut into wedges.
3. Toss the potato wedges with your olive oil in a large bowl. Sprinkle with sugar, salt, and your spices until evenly coated.
4. Spread the wedges onto the wire cooling wrack in a single layer (we had to use two baking sheets and two racks).
5. Bake for approx. 20 - 25 minutes (be sure to check after 15 min or so). Our image looks like they're burnt on the edges - they really aren't. It's just the carmelization from the sugar and the natural sugars in the sweet potato.

Optional Bonus: If you need a dipping sauce for your fries, you can always make the vanilla glaze from this recipe...you know. Lest you come to your senses and make the dish just a touch TOO healthy.