Healthy Snacking: Sweet Potato Fries

With autumn rapidly approaching, a new season of foods is emerging. One of these foods is the versatile (and delicious!) sweet potato. This vegetable is used in many recipes, and can be added into a lot of meals for some extra flavour. However, it is really easy to get your sweet potato fix by using them on their own to create sweet potato fries! These healthy fries are a fantastic alternative to regular potato fries, and can be eaten on their own as a snack or as an accompaniment to a meal.

Ingredients

• Four large sweet potatoes
• 1/2 teaspoon of paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt
• Pinch of black pepper
• Pinch of garlic powder (optional)
• Olive oil or other cooking oil

Directions

1. Wash the sweet potatoes thoroughly. After washing, peel skin off of sweet potatoes and cut into thin matchsticks. Place the matchsticks into a mixing bowl and toss with oil -- be careful to only use enough to coat the sticks. Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius, or 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. For the seasoning, mix together the salt and paprika, adding a pinch of black pepper and the garlic powder if using. Take a spoonful of the mixture and place it in the mixing bowl with the sweet potato sticks. Toss the sticks again until the spread of the mixture is even enough to cover all of the fries. If you want more flavour, add more of the seasoning and toss again.
3. Put the sweet potato sticks onto a baking tray, being careful to not place them too close to one another. Place them in the oven and leave for 15-20 minutes, checking frequently and turning them halfway through.
4. When the 20 minutes are up, or when the sweet potato fries have turned a golden-brown colour, remove them from the oven and allow them to cool for a further 5 minutes. Serve and enjoy!

Tips / Tricks

• Olive oil can be replaced with most other cooking oils, but the fries do taste best when made with standard olive oil.
• Sweet potato can burn very easily, so ensure that you are checking the fries whilst they are cooking. If the edges start to go black, remove from the oven.
• For a crinkle-cut style of fry, simply cut the sweet potato using a serrated-edged kitchen knife.
• You can add any flavourings to this recipe — instead of paprika and garlic, you can also add in your favourite spices. Experiment with spices, and find out what your personal favourite is!

Special thanks to losing control. and silent hearts. for editing!