Prestidigitation Paleo French Fries

I love french fries. It's terrible. Why are they so good and yet so horrendous for you? I also love sweet potato fries EVEN MORE, and yet they're only mildly better for you than the latter. Of course, neither is Paleo unless cooked in the right oil. It's a vicious cycle where I want them, but everything I defend the choice with is really just an excuse to eat something I shouldn't be eating anyways. 

On the other hand, I love vegetables, but I'm getting really bored of salads and steaming. Don't get me wrong, broccoli will always be delicious and filling, but sometimes you want something with a little more pizazz. Salads serve a purpose, but they don't fill me with comfort or satisfy my need for something warm and a little sweet.

Lately, these conflicting feelings have left me with the incredible urge to make things taste or feel like other more delicious and unhealthy things. Call it culinary prestidigitation if you will. I'm a huge fan of D&D and I play a gnome bard who is constantly using prestidigitation to transform things into other things. She wants blue hair today? Great! She decides to turn a screaming blue jay into a songbird so she can enjoy natures melody? Go! She decides to make a piece of quartz look like an astral diamond to pay for new equipment? What an idea! So after all that fun around the gaming table, I've been thinking about the things a gnome bard would do in the kitchen if she had to eat right, but wanted to enjoy all of her unhealthier cravings at the same time. Just like slaying mindflayers on your way to the Underdark, cooking is a necessity, but it's always better when it's fun! Thusly, I had an idea to create a recipe for vegetables that tricked me into thinking I was eating fries. Since I like sweet potato fries, I decided to go for carrots because of their natural sweetness. Anyone care to gather round the fire pit at the Project Reroll tavern to see a magic trick? 

Prestidigitation Paleo French Fries

Ingredients: 

• 8 carrots sliced into 3/4 inch thick "fries" or sticks. Use your best judgement as far as length.
• 4 tbs of extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• sea salt, to taste
• pepper, to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment and spread your carrots evenly across it. 
3. Add your extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper.
4. Sprinkle the garlic powder over all the fries.
5. Roll your carrots back and forth across the parchment until everything is evenly coated in the seasoning and oil. 
6. Place in the oven for 15 minutes.
7. Remove from oven and flip your fries.
8. Replace the sheet in the oven for 10 more minutes. 
9. Remove from the oven and enjoy the mouth watering results of your magic trick!

Do you have any culinary magic you perform to stay healthy but eat yummy? By all means, share in the comments so all of our Slayers can enjoy your creative ideas! 

Tomorrow is the due date for the our first Mini Slayer Halloween Challenge! I'm looking forward to hearing about your adventures!