sweet spuds
this month, on inphyusion, i’m sharing one of my first cooked recipes. don’t worry, it’s a simple and nearly effortless plant-based, oil free recipe but still a big deal.
it’s a big deal because when inphyusion began it was a raw vegan site. that’s how i was eating at the time and i was sure i would be forever.
i loved being raw vegan and felt amazing. until i didn’t.
my food journey began over 15 years ago when a good friend told me the eczema and asthma, i’d fought on and off throughout my life, could be the result of something i was eating.
what?! at the time that idea was so foreign to me but i was ready to explore and became my best science experiment.
while searching for the culprit, i began food journaling, tracking my symptoms and their severity.
over the years, i’ve studied and tried a number of diet theories. i’ve been veggie since my post-basketball college days, vegan since my mid-20’s and transitioned to raw vegan by late 20’s.
in my 30’s, i added local bee pollen and unpasteurized honey back to the mix as a source for healing seasonal allergies and found almost immediate relief.
reintroducing bee products felt like a big decision at the time since i’d been a raw vegan for nearly 7 years. however, i couldn’t argue with the results i was finding.
no longer 100% vegan, i continued eating raw foods but found it was feeling more and more like a struggle through the winter months.
now, if i lived on a tropical island with tons of sunny warm weather, feasting on unlimited fresh coconuts, mangos and such i’m certain i’d be a happy raw foodist for life.
…but i live in colorado, near the mountains where it snows. sometimes feet at a time. even in april.
i found i was doing lots of gourmet raw vegan foods to sustain myself. gourmet raw vegan foods are beautiful and delicious and can also be a bit much on digestion. nuts and seeds are packed with excellent nutrition, but it’s dense, and when they’re making up a majority of your meals it gets heavy and tough to break down.
sort of an energy zapper.
even though it was challenging i loved it and wanted to remain raw vegan. it appears i have a habit of banging my head against a wall before i make a change.
sometimes what you want isn’t what you need and as it’s been said before, you can’t always get what you want.
at this point you know i’m an integrative nutrition health coach you may fear i’m looking to make the world vegan. rest assured, i’m not.
through my own experience, what i really enjoy doing for you is teaching you the tools to help you find what suits you best. i help you feel great in your body because it’s all about bio-individuality .
once i finally stopped banging my head against a wall, i turned my oven on one day and roasted some veggies. they were incredible. so i did again a few days later. they were incredible again and i felt great.
do i still eat some fancy raw vegan gourmet meals? yes! but not as a daily practice.
there aren’t any silly rules around what i do, why i do it, or what time it happens but i enjoy starting the day on the light side with smoothies or smoothie bowls, a green juice or my favorite chia pudding and later in the day i tend to cook something. my cooked meal is always paired with a pile of greens, such as a simple kale or arugula salad because i can’t go a day without enjoying my greens.
sweet potatoes have totally grown on me and since they’re so easy to make, without further ado, i share with you guilt-free fries for days.
sweet spuds
preheat over to 450.
slice 1-2 sweet potatoes (sometimes i slice them thin like french fries and sometimes it’s a wedge-both work the same) and place in a large bowl.
toss with your favorite spices (salt, pepper, turmeric, garlic or herbamare are my go-to’s)
place unbleached parchment paper on cookie sheet, drop in the oven and cook for 30-40 minutes until golden brown.
remove from the stove and allow to cool 5-10 minutes before serving.
I have always wanted to try making these, thanks for such an easy to follow recipe. Hubs is not a fan of sweet potatoes but I think if I make them this way he may just give them a try. I never realized parchment paper could be bleached, that tip alone was worth the visit!
i wasn’t a huge fan of sweet potatoes until i started prepping them this way and now i can’t stop!! and the unbleached parchment paper is huge…who wants to eat chlorine and why do they use it in the first place?!
Yummm this looks so good!! I’m going to have to try it!!
awesome, enjoy!
Ooh, these look and sound delicious, Jessica! My attempts so far have come out a bit mushy (though still very tasty!), but your approach is so straightforward and simple that I don’t see how I can go wrong! Thanks very much for sharing!
you’re welcome and they really are that easy…i think the parchment paper helps the soggy factor (:
This looks great. I bet even my kids would love them!
i’m sure they would, and they won’t even know they’re good for them (:
These look amazing! I love sweet potatoes and I bet turmeric would be awesome on them! Definitely trying that!
using turmeric is one of my favorites–in fact, just used it last night (:
I never thought about tossing garlic powder onto sweet potato fries – great idea! I can’t wait to try it out 🙂
awesome, enjoy!
I absolutely love making my own veggie/potato fries! Then you can make them according to your own preference. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
you’re welcome and enjoy!
So easy, delicious and healthy too!
that’s my happy trifecta!!
Thanks for sharing this recipe for simple sweet spuds. We love sweet potatoes in our house and this makes me want to make some soon.
get after it and enjoy (:
Simple and easy recipe to follow, and looks really good.
they are quite simple which is my favorite kind of recipe!
These look so delicious! Saving this recipe for a side for dinner this week. Thank you!
excellent, enjoy samantha!
Very nice baked potato fries, they look lovely!
so yummy and simple too (:
I’m a sucker for Russett oven baked fries. Sweet potato fries just don’t do it for me, BUT I’ve never flavored them with any of the seasonings you’ve mentioned. I may have to give them a second chance. Yours sound really good.
i didn’t love them at first either and it is all in the flavoring…enjoy!
Oh wow, thanks for sharing your story. Quite a journey. The hubs is vegan, but i couldn’t imagine him being raw. I feel like it takes so much effort even though there is no cooking! Glad you found what works for you, I’m currently doing a vegetarian challenge for 120 days, i’m on day 41 🙂
excellent mira, hope the challenge is going well…i think it’s important for us all to explore and find what makes us feel our best! cheers to your journey (:
These look amazing! Definitely trying this 🙂
I absolutely love roasting veggies, and think I ‘ve tried almost everything! These spuds look amazing! They make a great side for your meal.