Yum

It is blizzardy and blustery out here today in the middle of the prairies…. yes… I can say ‘blizzardy’ even though it isn’t really a word… it’s cold and I can call it anything I want…  I’m all on my own for dinner, which often means corn chips with melted cheese and hot salsa, but today I’m just going to pretend to be bad and eat something much less bad but just as comforting and deceivingly good.

Keeping in line with my previous skinny post, today I’m having some French fries with spicy dip.

I know, I know, there’s this voice in my head yelling at me… do not bring up that deep fryer… and I won’t!  Instead I’m going to go with a healthy French fry… Yes… You read that right, a healthy French fry in fact Oprah and Rosie (her past chef) called it the un-fry.

Shhhhh…. If you don’t tell them they won’t even know… I promise!  This recipe comes from Oprah’s house…   found in Rosie Daley’s book “In the Kitchen with Rosie”.  If you’re not familiar, she was Oprah’s chef for a while… until she put out this book.  I believe that the story was that Oprah had a book deal to spill all her personal information and at some point decided she preferred to keep her private life quiet… good for you Oprah… so instead she offered up Rosie and all her own favorite recipes.  I’m guessing Rosie certainly didn’t mind.

At any rate, this is one of Oprah’s favorites and it was mine for a long time too until we succumbed to deep frying… alas… it is again time for this version… and I don’t even feel like I’m being cheated out of all that oil.

• 1 large potato (or more if you’re feeding more people, obviously, and trust me… they will all want this)
• Light vegetable spray
• 1 egg white (or a little less if you’re using whites from a carton, Rosie’s calls for 5 potatoes and 2 egg whites)
• Seasoning of your choice (I… and Oprah enjoy Cajun)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Wash and slice potatoes into matchsticks or bigger fries if you choose.  You can peel yours, I leave the skin on mine. Throw them into a bowl and drop in the egg white to coat, sprinkle generously with your favorite seasoning then spread evenly on a pan that you’ve sprayed with vegetable oil.  Bake on the bottom rack until they are crispy.  You should check and move them around every 5 or so minutes to ensure they are browned evenly.  The first time you go to move them around they will likely stick a bit… do not fear, once you get them moving they will brown and crisp up beautifully. I have found through experience that it’s best to bake them fast and hot that way the egg whites get really nice and crispy.

I also like mine with a mixture of regular ketchup and a balsamic vinegar called Black Heat… yes… I like it hot… plus I am a Gemini and so I can never seem to choose between, I prefer both… good thing they go well together!

Now for 5 large baking potatoes and two egg whites Rosie says that would serve 4 and only have 0.5 grams of fat per serving and 291 Calories.   I used 1 potato and 1 egg white… I figure it’s so healthy I don’t even need to figure it out!