Foodie Monday: Baked Carrot “Sweet Potato Fries”

As a teenager, I forced myself to love carrots. I had just gotten the lead in a musical theatre production. I had decided in order to fit into a costume, I would shrink my figure by eating nothing but carrots, Multigrain Cherrios, and drinking massive amounts of water. It worked. Once the show was over, I refused to touch another carrot for over a decade. *coughcough* Don’t do the math. I am not as old as you now think! *coughcough*

Carrots are an amazing vegetable. Three ounces of carrots are only 35 calories. That’s not bad. If you compare the caloric content of french fries or sweet potato fries to carrot “fries” you will discover there is no contest. French fries are a guilty pleasure instead of an everyday food. No matter what my size, I feel guilty eating french fries; I do not feel guilty eating carrots.

Yes, I was yet again “Pinterinspired (copyright, DK!).” I only saw a picture. I never looked at the recipe. At some point, I will make many more posts about vegetable french fry experiments. This evening, I made up a recipe for some Baked Portobello Mushroom Fries that shocked even me with the end result! The other day, I did waffle cut carrot fries with a peanut sauce that were AMAZING! *A happy vegan foodie dance goes here* As I am discovering, there are even healthier ways to make some of my favorite (and soon to be favorite) dishes. Admittedly, if it weren’t for veganism, I would under no circumstances be this excited about a carrot! Puh-leeze!

CARROT “SWEET POTATO FRIES”
Serves 2-3
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20-40 minutes depending on what cut you choose for your fries

INGREDIENTS:
4 Whole Large Carrots
2 tbsp Olive Oil
1 tbsp Agave Nectar
1 tbsp Allspice
1 tbsp Ground Ginger
1 tbsp Cinnamon

RECIPE:
*For Carrot Stick Fries:
1. Cut carrots in half once widthwise to reduce the length of the carrot by half
2. Cut remaining pieces in half lengthwise
3. Cut those pieces in half lengthwise again so that the end result are carrots have been quartered and reduced in length

*For Curly Fries:
1. Using a wide vegetable peeler (often called a “Y Peeler” or a “Swiss Peeler”), peel a thin strip off of the carrot lengthwise.
2. Place the now long flat cut side face down on your flexible cutting mat or cutting board so that the carrot doesn’t roll as you use your peeler.
3. Dig deep with your peeler are you peel thick strips of carrots. With a little practice, you will get into a good routine with your peeler and your pieces will naturally start to curl!

*For Waffle Cut Fries:
1. If you have one, set up your mandoline to use the waffle cut setting OR use a waffle cutter.
2. Cut carrots into waffle slices . . . duh.

*FOR ALL FRIES:
1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper
3. In a large bowl, combine olive oil, agave, allspice, ginger, and cinnamon.
4. In batches no bigger than a handful at a time, toss the carrot fries in the olive oil spice mixture until full coated.
5. Spread out onto the baking sheet.
6. For stick fries, bake for 35 to 40 minutes.*
7. For curly fries, bake for about 20 minutes.*
8. For waffle cut fries, bake for about 30 to 35 minutes. *

* For the last couple minutes in the oven, do not leave your fries unattended! Make sure you check on them for crispness. I like mine super crispy! Be careful . . . Once they are cooked, they can and will burn quickly.