Baked Sweet Potato and Parsnip Chips #OurOctoberChallenge

This cleaning eating challenge is going pretty good, we’re on day 8 now! 8 days with no mess ups! I even gave up a lunch date with a friend today since I’m not suppose to eat out this month! (Will get lunch soon, Dana!!)

I’m doing OK when it comes to meals now. I’m starting to get into the rhythm of cooking dinner from scratch… as in 100% from scratch. The first week almost ran me into the ground, but I’m tackling it head on this week! Challenge you will NOT defeat me! haha!

Like last night, last night it only took me maybe 45 minutes to get dinner done and on the table (30 or so minutes was simmer time) and I didn’t rush with the chopping of the veggies and whatnot, so I’m sure I could cut that time down if need be! Pretty good in my book 😉

So while meals are starting to fall into place, snack are not. Snacks, I am in need of snacks!! I’ve left all the junk food exactly in where is was when we started the challenge, I’m using it as an extra bit of challenge to be able to look at the Oreos on top of the fridge and mentally laugh in their face as I go for the apple. I am aware that me taunting the Oreos with my apple makes me sound like a freak and I’m OK with that 😉

But one can only enjoy apples for so long before they are in need of another type of snack. Sure, I’ve got a fridge full of grapes, strawberries and Greek yogurt as well as a counter stocked with bananas and pears to go after, but sometime in my moments of weakness I almost reach for the cookies or chips because I need something, or should I say WANT something more than fruit.

What’s a girl to do? Make her own chips, that’s what! Baked veggies chips, in fact! I’ve been in love with sweet potato chips for a few years now. BigBear loves to make them but most of the time we fry them in oil. Probably not the best decision on our Healthy/Clean Eating challenge. Baking them with some of this Pompeian Extra Virgin Olive Oil though did fit in with my goals for this month. 

So with the craving of chips and this Pompeian Extra Virgin Olive Oil on hand, I decided to bake some sweet potato chips with a little seasoning and I added parsnips to the mix! If you’ve never had a parsnip don’t be afraid haha. I know they look like weird carrots but they’re good.They almost taste like carrots too, a strong flavored carrot.

You know I never really paid attention to my olive oil until about a year or so ago. Olive oil was olive oil to me. Until I started buying some off brand ones. No, no, no. They just didn’t work for me. I’ve been buying Pompeian Extra Virgin Olive Oil for as long as I can remember. I don’t know who got me into buying this brand but I suppose I’ve stuck with them for as long as I have because I just love their olive oil. 

I use it for chips, I use it when I make my own salad dressings and I use it when I’m making up a stir-fry for dinner! It doesn’t leave a greasy taste like some oils can and I really like the subtle flavor that it ads to whatever I’m making.

You certainly don’t want to use some type of low-quality oil and get greasy veggie chips with an aftertaste! (It has happened to us before with regular potato chips when we switched to an off-brand olive oil once! Yikes!)

These Baked Sweet Potato and Parsnip Chips are the perfect snack for me. I get a “salty & seasoned” potato chip and still feel good about what I’m eating because I’ve literally started with fresh vegetables and transformed them into a healthy snack within minutes!

I literally munched on these all day on Saturday because I was busy, busy and didn’t have time to stop and fix lunch. My cousin Crystal and my god-daughter Layla loved them too! Layla didn’t want to stop stealing them! haha

Have you ever made veggie chips?! I’d love to know what types of vegetables you love to use to make yours!