Erin Moraghan
I don’t know if it’s the Irish in me but my love for potatoes cooked all ways runs deep. Mashed, roasted, fried. Hasselback, rösti, scalloped. I just love the grounding comfort of spuds!
This week, we kicked off our 30 Day Thriive program in partnership with functional nutritionist Cait Mizzi. This program features a month of strategies for anyone navigating inflammation or autoimmune symptoms. We focus on a holistic plan, with customized mindset, movement, and lifestyle coaching, with Cait’s leadership on an Autoimmune Paleo nutrition strategy (AIP).
As a nightshade, potatoes are not part of the AIP 30 day elimination. So I said farewell to potatoes for the month and felt sullen when Cait said “Parsnip fries are good in a pinch!”
Like the way kale chips are just as good as the real thing?
But on Day 2, I was craving salty potatoes in such big ways ways that I marched through the produce aisle and bought a bag of parsnips with reluctance. I peeled and sliced them into little fry-shapes, roasted them in bacon fat with sea salt and sat down miserably to fake-enjoy these fake-fries.
To my surprise, parsnip fries are next-level bliss.
I’ve been roasting them adding sweet potatoes and heirloom carrots for colour and variety with hearty chunks of bacon. You can easily make this recipe plant-based with avocado oil, ditching the animal-based ingredients. This AIP recipe will become a life-long staple. Totally kid approved and ultra-fabulous with steak and avocado. Enjoy!
Cait-Inspired Parsnip Fries:
- Set your oven to 400-425 depending on how hot your oven gets.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment.
- Cut your root veggies into happy little fry shapes.
- Toss with a hearty heaping tablespoon of bacon fat, duck fat, or avocado oil.
- Feel free to add in 2 strips of chopped bacon. If your bacon slices are thin, wait to add it in until your root veggies have begun to soften, or your bacon will over-crisp.
- Bake your fries till desired level of golden crispiness, being sure to toss halfway through.
- Delightful with an added dash of truffle salt.