Although I would love to eat fries and chips on a daily basis if they were healthy, we need to be very careful when cooking potatoes to avoid acrylamide. Acrylamide is a chemical used mainly in making some dyes and plastics, and is found in some caulks, food packaging, adhesives, and cigarette smoke. Acrylamide has been shown to cause neurological damage and considerable cancer risk. Unfortunately, it’s also created when cooking very starchy foods like potatoes at high temperatures, therefore, French fries and potato chips have the highest levels of acrylamide.[1] It’s important to be conscious of the chemical reaction of cooking potatoes, cut back, use high-quality ingredients, and consider French fries a junk food not a vegetable.
This recipe idea came from the back section of the book The Fat Fallacy.[2] There are also good recipes for salmon, lasagna, and quite a few other things. I’ll review the book when I talk about fat and how great it is – not doughnut fat, of course, but real food fat. This recipe is also fun for kids to make because they get to sprinkle on all kinds of herbs. Use whichever herbs you like and have on hand; I used them all.
Roasted Potatoes
1-3 potatoes per person depending on the size
Avocado oil
Thyme
Oregano
Rosemary
Parsley
Sea Salt
Preheat oven to 350. Cut the potatoes into small, bite-size pieces. Put parchment paper on a baking pan and spray. Spread the potatoes in a single layer and drizzle them all with oil. Cover the potatoes with as much of the herbs as you like, and sprinkle with sea salt. Bake for 25 minutes. Turn the potatoes and bake for another ten minutes to brown.
[1] “Analysis of acrylamide, a carcinogen formed in heated foodstuffs,” Tareke E, Rydberg P, Karlsson P, Eriksson S, Törnqvist M; Journal of Agriculture Food Chemistry, Aug. 2002.
[2] The Fat Fallacy: The French Diet Secrets to Permanent Weight Loss, Will Clower, Harmony, 2003
