Garlic “Fries”

Ok, so they aren’t really fries. They’re carrots. But you already knew that, since you knew fries aren’t paleo – right?!

This recipe was actually inspired from PaleOMG’s Carrot Fries and Garlic Aoli Recipe. In my typical fashion, I just had to change it up just a bit. Before I get into the recipe, I’m going to tell a little back story on why I got into blogging, since it was also almost completely inspired by Juli Baur (the creator of PaleOMG). If you don’t care at all about my personal story, and I don’t blame you if you don’t, please feel free to skip right to the recipe.

I have always loved writing. I could never be a professional writer, because I write similar to how I think and speak. If you read this blog and you don’t know me, you probably think I’m a lunatic. Or a moron. Or both. Oh well, maybe I’m a little bit of both. One of my biggest hesitations was having my favorite college professor (I’m looking at you, Lisa) coming across this blog and being horrified by my writing.  What I’m doing here isn’t exactly the AP Style grammar and writing that Lisa taught me. I know I use too many commas. Some of my sentences are too short, and some are way too long. But I think my personality comes across in my writing, and that’s really how I want it.

I have also always liked cooking, even in college in my teeny tiny apartment with the sink on a different floor than the rest of the kitchen (true story). When I started eating paleo, my like for cooking changed to love. Reading cookbooks, reading recipes, reading blogs, trying different things and figuring out what I liked and what I didn’t like.. It was all so fun to me. Hands down, my favorite blog was (is) PaleOMG. Juli is real. She’s a professional blogger and a way better crossfitter than I can ever dream to be, but her personality still comes through on her blog (at least I think, since I don’t actually know the girl personally). I think that doing something that you clearly love, day in and day out, without losing yourself is seriously one of, if not the, coolest things ever.

When I started really getting into cooking and posting pictures (on Instagram and Facebook) of stuff that I cooked, I started getting tons of requests for the recipes that I was making. If I got it from a paleo blog, I would share that. If I made it myself, I would share that too. Slowly (I’m talking very slowly here) the thought started to form in my mind that I should start a blog. I started throwing the idea around, and everyone that I mentioned it to seemed to be really behind me. So this blog came about as kind of a creative outlet for me outside of my regular job, as well as a way to share the recipes that I make with other people and, hopefully, help get at least a few people interested in paleo eating, cooking and living.

Ok, slightly self-indulgent story time over. Thanks for listening.

Ingredients:

9-10 whole carrots.

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1-2 TSP olive oil

Salt, pepper and crushed red pepper, to taste.

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Then, peel your carrots. Next, cut your carrots into French fry-size sticks. I actually prefer them a little bit skinner, while TJ likes the thicker ones, so by the time they’re done cooking the skinny ones are a little bit crispy. Your call. You’ll have to see what works better for you. Once they are cut, place them into a mixing bowl and top with the oil, garlic salt and peppers. Toss them around really, really well to make sure that they are all completely coated in your seasoning mixture. Then just dump the carrots onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. The parchment paper really isn’t necessary, but I like to think that they make the carrots a little crispier. Pop them in the oven for about 20-25 minutes, mixing occasionally to make sure that they cook evenly on both sides, and voila!