The Paleo Bachelor: White Sweet Potato Fries

Single serving of Paleo Bachelor Sweet Potato Fries

To be clear, I'm not actually a bachelor.  I am, however, like a bachelor in that: a) nobody in my house cooks meals for me regularly; and b) I don't like to cook.  There are bachelors who like to cook, even some who are also straight, but they're few and far between.

If you're a good cook, the type of person who gets pleasure out of making a perfect wine reduction and who has more than 3 spices (salt, pepper, and chile powder) in your cupboard, the type who knows how to cut vegetables without losing fingertips, that's fantastic for you -you're well on your way to being a successful paleo dieter.  If, however, you'r elike me and find the idea of cooking a dish that takes more than 15 minutes, has more than 3 or so ingredients, or requires using a thermometer horrifying, then you might be a paleo bachelor.

The secret to succeeding as a paleo bachelor is to develop a list of easy to make, low prep time recipes that don't require too many fresh ingredients, too much cooking skill to create, or dirty too many dishes, yet still fit the paleo prescription.  How many recipes?  That's your call, but I'd say more than one.  I'm pretty tolerant of food boredom and even I get bored eating the same thing every day.

Every meal should start with a large portion of meat or eggs.  I personally also function better on a moderate amount of carbs - which means a nice load of sweet potato or some other tuber most days.  Occasionally I'll cook up a bowl of rice, but I try to save the grains for special occasions.

I was eating white sweet potato (there are many varieties, I have no idea how they differ) mashed and mixed in with ground beef most days.  Lately I got into the idea of eating steaks instead or mixing my ground beef with onions.  I don't like roasted or mashed sweet potato too much as a side dish, so I needed another relatively quick way to get it in. 

Store-bought sweet potato chips or fries would be a nice choice except they're usually cooked in horrific oils.  I tried to find a frozen sweet potato fry cooked in coconut or palm oil, to no avail.  So I decided to make my own.

The recipe is simple:
Tools:

• Vegetable peeler
• Knife
• Spoon
• Baking tray or dish
• Bowl
• Plate for serving

Ingredients:

• 1 or more sweet potatoes
• Melted coconut oil (enough to coat the fries)
• Seasonings - at least salt and pepper (I especially like garlic powder on these)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 Fahrenheit.
2. Stick coconut oil in bowl in microwave or over heat (depending on the bowl you're using) until liquid.
3. Peel sweet potato.
4. Cut sweet potato into slices, wedges, or fry shapes as you prefer.
5. Toss in bowl with coconut oil, salt, pepper, and any other seasonings you want - chile powder, garlic, whatever.
6. Spread "fries" evenly across the bottom of your baking dish/ tray.
7. Cook for about 15 minutes.
8. Turn over "fries" - use spoon.
9. Cook for another 10 minutes or until outside has reached desired crispiness.
10. Serve.

1 large sweet potato makes a single serving for me or enough for 2-3 normal people.  Experiment.  Cook the potatoes at least long enough to lightly brown the outside, maybe enough to slightly blacken it.

Yeah, I know, AGE's, blah blah, early death, blah blah.  You could steam these or cook them at a lower temperature.  But they're just sooo yummy blackened!

That's my first paleo bachelor recipe.  You can make these even if you aren't a bachelor, and even if you don't eat paleo.  But if you are a paleo bachelor they might be part of the cure for a lifetime of boring eating!