Quick & Easy Garlic Sweet Potato Fries

If your kids are anything like mine, they love French fries! Everyone knows they’re not exactly healthy for you, but that shouldn't stop us from enjoying them. Good news! Sweet potatoes are a healthier alternative. Sure, you can buy them at the store, but why not save a little money and make some when it’s so easy? These took about 10 minutes to prep and 30-40 minutes to bake, depending on how much you like them done.

Start with two sweet potatoes, wash them well with a veggie brush and trim out any eyes, cut off the ends.

Chop them down the middle lengthwise and start slicing them into thin strips, about ½ inch on all sides.

After slicing is done, spread the fries on a lined cookie sheet. As you can see, I have a few too many here, but close enough! Sprinkle sea salt and granulated garlic or garlic powder over the fries and toss gently with your hands to evenly coat.

Bake at 425°F for 30-40 minutes. I switched to the broiler for the last 10 minutes to try and crisp them up a little more.

And done! They didn't crisp up as much as I would have liked, but they were ridiculously delicious! This was a little less than half of them; I couldn't get a picture before the kids got into them!

Hyped-Up Jicama Salad

I wanted to share this quick and easy recipe for an exceptionally clean side dish.

Preparation is as simple as chopping up all of the ingredients, and it makes enough for multiple meals!

This is a nice crisp, refreshing change from the standard side veggies or green salad.

What you'll need:
1 large jicama, chopped
1 large Granny Smith apple,  chopped
1/2 cup chives, diced
1 large jalapeno, seeded and minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
Juice of 2 limes
Chili powder, to taste
Pink Himalayan salt, to taste

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl until evenly mixed together.

Detecting Nutritional Deficiencies

Proper nutrition is important, especially with your children. With all of the less-than-ideal food options marketed to children these days, it can also be very challenging to get them to eat healthy meals. The higher metabolism in children help compensate for what they eat, however it is always good to know that they are receiving enough of the vital nutrients needed to develop properly. The below image displays different ways to detect nutritional deficiencies.