When I suggested we stop buying potato chips a while back, I got the 'hairy eyeball' look. It's not like we even bought them very often, but nobody wanted to give up the option. Especially for birthdays.
Potato chips have absolutely no nutritional bang for the buck (unless you are horribly underweight and desperate for all the extra calories you can get--even then, the oil and salt used in most brands are bad for us).
So, I had to come up with some good substitutes, enjoyed often enough, to sway the crowd. First I had to find some recipes. Then I needed time to try them. Our weeks are already full, so I thought I would try Sundays. We had been having popcorn in the evening, but not as regularly as we did in winter.
We actually started out with potato chips and then tested a simple onion ring recipe. Then we resurrected this recipe, and adapted it to some of the diet changes we've been making. They really aren't hard, just a little time consuming. Don't worry if it isn't perfect. That's part of the charm!
I should have taken a picture of cutting the onion, but I ran out of hands! This time, I used unbleached white flour. Next time, I will try it with fresh ground spelt.
So, first melt and heat your good, healthy fat in a deep pan (I used coconut oil in a 3-quart pot) Then, you cut the onion. Dip it in an egg and milk wash (I used 2 small eggs and one cup of milk for two blooming onions.)
Potato chips have absolutely no nutritional bang for the buck (unless you are horribly underweight and desperate for all the extra calories you can get--even then, the oil and salt used in most brands are bad for us).
So, I had to come up with some good substitutes, enjoyed often enough, to sway the crowd. First I had to find some recipes. Then I needed time to try them. Our weeks are already full, so I thought I would try Sundays. We had been having popcorn in the evening, but not as regularly as we did in winter.
We actually started out with potato chips and then tested a simple onion ring recipe. Then we resurrected this recipe, and adapted it to some of the diet changes we've been making. They really aren't hard, just a little time consuming. Don't worry if it isn't perfect. That's part of the charm!
I should have taken a picture of cutting the onion, but I ran out of hands! This time, I used unbleached white flour. Next time, I will try it with fresh ground spelt.
So, first melt and heat your good, healthy fat in a deep pan (I used coconut oil in a 3-quart pot) Then, you cut the onion. Dip it in an egg and milk wash (I used 2 small eggs and one cup of milk for two blooming onions.)
Then roll and gently toss it in the flour mixture (1 cup flour, 1-1/2 teaspoons sea salt, 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper--1/3 of what the original recipe recommends, 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano--I was out, so used Italian seasoning), 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, 1/4 teaspoon cumin).
Dip in milk/egg mixture again and cover a second time with flour mixture to coat fully.
Serve with dipping sauce on the side. I doubled the sauce recipe since we were doing two onions for 8 of us. (1/2 cup mayonnaise, 1 Tablespoon tomato sauce, 2-3 Tablespoons taratoor sauce from this recipe, because I didn't have horseradish sauce on hand, 1/4 teaspoon paprika, 1/4 teaspoon sea salt, 1/8 teaspoon dried oregano (or Italian seasoning), dash ground black pepper, dash cayenne.)
Mmmmm.
What kinds of special foods do you like to make to replace old favorite snack foods?
1 comment:
Yum! That looks so good! Something I would never attempt, but I bet McKenzie would! :>) Our salty treat around here is air popped popcorn with salt and melted butter on it. Of course, I prefer sweets and I just haven't come up with anything better than ice cream! I do get the "all natural" kind (for whatever its worth) :>)
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