Baked Garlic Sweet Potato "Fries"

Hey guys!

Here is a quick, healthy, and delicious snack/meal/sidedish that I just invented tonight!

I have loooooved garlic fries all of my life-- I remember going to a drive-in restaurant in California with my mom when I was a little girl, and it had the BEST garlic fries in town.

Any unhealthy dish can be made into a healthy one! This recipe is the perfect example!

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Fun Facts:

• Sweet potatoes are high in beta-carotene which helps your eye sight, and helps you grow strong nails and hair!
• The allicin in garlic is also a powerful antibiotic, which fights infection and bacteria. British researchers gave 146 people either a placebo or a garlic extract for 12 weeks. The garlic takers were two-thirds less likely to catch a cold.
• Sweet potatoes are high in vitamin C, to help ward off colds.
• Other studies suggest that garlic lovers who chow more than six cloves a week have a 30 percent lower rate of colorectal cancer and a 50 percent lower rate of stomach cancer.
• Sweet potatoes contain vitamin D. They also contain iron, so if you are a vegetarian, then they are a good way to help keep that balanced.
•  Garlic helps to open clogged sinuses.

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Instead of frying the sweet potato slices, we will be baking them (no oil necessary)! And instead of eating white potatoes, we will be substituting beta-carotene filled, nutritious sweet potatoes instead!

Recipe:

• One sweet potato (or yam)
• 1 Tbs chopped fresh thyme
• Salt to your liking
• Pepper to your liking
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 Tbs chopped garlic

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Slice your sweet potatoes thinly, and place on a baking sheet.
3. Sprinkle spices and herbs over the slices, and mix the slices together to spread seasonings evenly.
4. Place the slices in your oven, and let bake for 7 to 10 minutes.
5. Puncture a slice with a knife to see if they are all evenly cooked through.
6. When done, place slices in an appropriately sized bowl, and sprinkle your garlic over the "fries". Maybe even drizzling a modest amount of olive oil to help the garlic stick (and aslo to add flavor).
7. EAT!

 They are incredibly satisfying, and I hope that you thouroughly enjoy them!

Love,

Isabella!