Got Crunch?

I will never forget this one boy in primary school.  No, not because I had a crush on him, or because he would stealthily pick his nose and eat it — EVERY ONE KNEW JOSHUA! — It was all because of what he would eat at snack time.  I remember staring at him in envy as he licked the salt from his fingers and made a loud crunching sound each time he bit down…His snack really looked like a lot of fun, and well, better than my walnuts and raisins….

But my parents refused to buy potato chips.  At the grocery store we would walk briskly by Aisle 3 as if it didn’t even exist…Well they would; I bloody well knew that aisle existed!

I tried everything to get them to purchase just one shiny bag of those crispy everytime-addicting-chips but they would always say “T, if you can find a bag without trans-fats or hydrogenated oil, they’re all yours!”  So I would stand in that aisle for hours (okay, maybe a few minutes) reading the ingredients on every bag…And every bag resulted in sheer disappointment.

It wasn’t until early in the millenium (2004?) when Canada banned trans fats that I could actually find a bag that warranted my parents requirements.

After a few serious crunch sessions, I realized what I had been missing out on all along. 

But you know what I wasn’t missing out on?? The oil-laden fried potatoes and the long list of ingredients I couldn’t actually pronounce.

In the past few years, there have been a number of companies marketing “natural chips” or “all organic”…And while some of those bags are just really well branded, some of them actually have a nice looking list of ingredients.  The only thing stopping me is the price tag.

So this evening when I was just really feeling like something to crunch on, I turned to the nearly rotten beets in my fruit bowl.  Who says I can’t make chips out of beets…?

Beet Chips

Ingredients

2 large golden beets

2 tbsp. of olive oil

coarse sea salt, to taste

paprika, to taste

Method

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Peel and slice the beets very thin.  I just used a sharp knife, but if you are fortunate enought to have a mandolin, I highly recommend it!

3. Toss the thin slices in olive oil to make sure they’re coated on both sides and lay out onto the baking sheet.  Sprinkle with salt and paprika.

4. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the tops begin to brown.  Turn over and bake for another 10 minutes.  The baking time is very dependent on the thickness: the thicker the slice, the longer the time, obviously.

5. Remove from oven and cool. (This ensures that there is an actual crunch, but if you’re like me and can’t actually wait for them to cool the first few will just be really amazing roasted beets; the crunch will appear as you near the bottom of the bowl….)

I had these alongside a bowl of quinoa mixed with black beans, corn, kale, onion, red pepper, and Angela’s Lemon Tahini Dressing. 

It was delicious, and definitely hit the spot…A little more than those empty-carb potato chips.

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