Healthy Fries? WHAT!

When I began my low carb lifestyle, I never thought I would be able to do it. All of my favorite foods were loaded with carbs. I LOVE mashed potatoes, french fries, bread, and pasta. I quickly learned that I didn't have to give them up completely, but I could make similar tasting foods as healthier, low carb alternatives. I went on Pinterest and started looking up different low carb options and let me tell you, I have tried  A TON! Some were  DELICIOUS and some were, let's just say, not as tasty as they looked in the pictures. I am going to share a different recipe in each of my upcoming posts, but I just want to make it clear that I did not come up with these recipes on my own. I found them on pinterest and maybe tweaked a few spices or ingredients in order to make them taste the way I wanted. With that being said, here we go.

As I mentioned earlier, I LOVE french fries. I love a nice, warm, salted french fry as much as the next person, however, a deep fried potato is far from healthy. I came across this baked zucchini fry recipe and had to try it. I am a big zucchini fan, so I had a feeling this would become one of my favorites. I'm going to be honest, it is kind of tedious, but it is SO worth it. This recipe came from BudgetByte$ blog. 

        Baked Zucchini Fries

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

Total time: 30 minutes

Serves 5

Ingredients: 

1 lb. zucchini squash 

¼ cup all-purpose flour 

⅛ tsp salt 

1 cup panko bread crumbs

¼ cup parmesan cheese 

Tbsp Italian seasoning blend 

1 large egg 

Instructions: 

1. Rinse and dry the zucchini. Cut the ends off and then cut each one into strips, approximately ⅓ inch thick.
2. Place the zucchini strips on a large zip top bag and add the flour and salt. Shake the bag to coat the zucchini in flour. In a wide, shallow bowl combine the panko bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, and Italian seasoning. Stir to combine. In a second wide, shallow bowl, whisk a raw egg with about 1 Tbsp of water until fairly smooth.
3. Begin to preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Cover a baking sheet with foil and then place two wire cooling racks over top. One by one, take the flour coated zucchini strips and dip them in the egg and then the seasoned bread crumb mixture. Place the breaded zucchini on the wire cooling racks. The wire racks keep the zucchini up off of the baking sheet and allows hot air to circulate underneath, which will prevent soggy bottoms. Also make sure there is a small amount of space between each strip to allow circulation.
4. Once all of the zucchini strips are breaded, bake them for approximately 15 minutes or until they are a medium golden brown color. Cooking time will vary with the thickness of your zucchini strips, so keep a close eye.

I made these to go with dinner one night and I just couldn't stop eating them, they were that good! They offer a similar texture to a traditional french fry, but you don't need to feel guilty about eating them! We did have some left overs so I put them in a plastic airtight container and had them in the refrigerator a few nights before reheating them. They become a little soggy if you reheat them in the microwave, but they are still pretty tasty. However, I do prefer to reheat them in the oven. They seemed to be a little more crisp this way. 

If you decide to give them a try, I would love to hear if you enjoyed them as much as I did! Next up on the blog, zoodles! 

I

Budget Byte$. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Feb. 2016. <http://www.budgetbytes.com/2012/07/baked-zucchini-fries/>.