Comfort Food Recipes: Oven Baked Fries

This past week has been very emotional for me. Between getting dumped, being overwhelmed with schoolwork, and trying to support emotionally distraught friends, I’ve needed a hefty dose of comfort food.

The problem I, and perhaps some of you, fellow foodies, face is that I have made diet and exercise a priority in the past few months. I can go into the details later, but I have been trying to eat cleaner, make fitness part of my routine, and track what I put into my body. I’ve lost 20 pounds so far, and I couldn’t be happier.

But keeping up my healthy new lifestyle, and seeking comfort in my cooking seems at odds. I mean, I can’t exactly expect to see the numbers on my scale drop if I indulge and order Papa Johns with a side of Big Mac and Super-Sized Fries. It’s just not going to happen.

That being said, my food philosophy is to never completely deny myself goodies either – simply to have them in moderation, and try to make substitutions to make them healthier.

Therefore, I present to you a recipe for oven baked French fries –a family favorite. Nutrition facts are listed at the bottom of the recipe – which can also be made with sweet potatoes. However, for sweet potatoes, add in a dusting of cinnamon when you toss the potato wedges with oil and soup mix.

Ingredients:

• 5 Medium Potatoes
• 4 TBS Vegetable Oil
• 3 TBS Onion Soup Mic
• Paprika (to taste)

To Make:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
• Wash and cut the potatoes into wedges. There should be about 12 wedges to the average potato.
• Put potato wedges into a plastic bag (Ziploc or plastic produce bags work well)
• Pour the oil and soup mix into the bag, seal and shake well until the wedges are well coated.
• Lay out wedges on a parchment-covered baking sheet.
• Sprinkle paprika on wedges to your taste.
• Bake at 400 degrees for 35-45 minutes, turning once.

Serves: 5

Per Serving: 279 Calories, 41 grams carbs, 11 grams fat, 5 grams protein