Recipe: Healthy Homemade Vege Chips

Recipe: Healthy Homemade Vege Chips post image

It’s almost an oxymoron to say healthy chips, but wait until you see what these chips are made from and how they are cooked. Appropriate for SCD/GAPS, Paleo,/Primal, we don’t use potatoes which are a nightshade vegetable and dangerous for people sensitive to solanine. Oh no. We don’t use corn meal which is genetically modified unless it is organic. Oh no. Can you guess what we used for these gorgeous chips?

There are plenty of root vegetables that are acceptable for SCD, GAPS, Paleo and Primal diets. For these incredible chips we used golden beets, daikon radish and celeriac. I bet you couldn’t guess!

Traditionally chips were deep fried in tallow or lard. Due to conventional misinformation about saturated fats, commercial chips are loaded with toxic additives. I fried these chips in tallow, which is a stable saturated fat that can handle high heat cooking. Tallow is actually very healthy in spite of what you have been told by health officials. I get my tallow from grassfed animals and it if full of beneficial CLA. This fat supports the heart and brain.

Conventional chips are fried in highly processed, chemical laden, rancid and deodorized vegetable oils like corn, soy, cottonseed or canola. Ninety percent of the corn, soy, cottonseed and canola crops are genetically modified in this country so it is practically impossible to get a commercial chip that is not GM (even though it is not labeled as such). In addition, in many of the flavored varieties that you can get these days, there are additives such as MSG, refined salt and other chemical flavors.

Some of the health food store versions may appear better, but using sunflower or safflower oil is still not good because these oils are not made for high heating and will get rancid.

These vege chips are labor intensive — but a labor of love for someone who has not had chips due to dietary restrictions. The idea for these chips came from the wonderful parents of a little patient of mine who is doing very well on the GAPS diet. They didn’t want him to feel deprived when others were eating chips.

This is an advanced food and may be offered when someone is ready and can tolerate it well. Of course, they are a special treat and should be made only on special occasions.

Healthy Homemade Vege Chips

Ingredients

Equipment

Instructions

  1. A note about peeling — the beet and daikon can be easily peeled with a regular peeler. I found the celeriac hard to peel that way due to all the roots coming out of it so I used a knife to slice off the skin
  2. Set the mandolin at the thinnest — 1/16 inch. If you do not have a mandolin you can use a sharp knife. Just be sure to cut them evenly — they can be thicker.
  3. Proceed to slice all the vegetables
  4. You will get a lot
  5. Heat a large fry pan on the stove and melt the tallow — medium heat or 375 degrees if you are using an electric skillet
  6. It has to be hot enough to fry them crisply — but not too hot to burn them
  7. Be sure to put a lot of fat in the pan so that the pieces are covered
  8. Line the pan with the thin slices and let cook
  9. They will shrivel up and brown (usually about 2 minutes)
  10. When they look browned remove them with a slotted spoon and place on a platter lined with paper towel
  11. Be generous with the salt while they are still hot
  12. Put more slices in the pan
  13. If you can use two skillets it will go that much faster
  14. They are so delicious they will not last past the cooking so no need to worry about storage

This post is shared at: My Meatless Monday, Melt in Mouth Monday, Monday Mania, Barnyard hop, Meatless Monday, Mouthwatering Monday, Tasty Tuesday Tidbits, Made From Scratch Tuesday, Traditional Tuesday, Hearth & Soul Hop, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday Naptime, Tasty Tuesday 33, Gluten Free Wednesday, Real Food Wednesday, Whole Food Wednesday, Sustainable Ways, These Chicks Cooked, Cast Party Wednesday, Allergy Free Wednesday, These Chicks Cooked, Creative Juice Thursday, Tastastic, Full Plate Thursday, Simple Lives Thursday, Pennywise Platter, Freaky Friday, Foodie Friday, Fight Back Friday, Friday Food, Seasonal Celebration

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Leave a Comment

  • Amanda April 15, 2012, 8:59 pm

    Would I be able to use red beets? This just happens to be what I have on hand, but I’m not sure if they would taste good. What are your thoughts? Great post!

    Reply
    • Jill April 15, 2012, 9:35 pm

      Hi Amanda,
      I think you could use them, but they will have a stronger flavor and it will be harder to tell when they are done — I guess they will get very dark.

      Reply
    • naomi April 22, 2012, 4:55 am

      Red beets make delicious crisps (chips), but they will burn more easily than golden beets due to higher sugar content – carrots are the same. x x x

      Reply
      • Amanda May 14, 2012, 6:30 pm

        Thanks, Jill and Naomi!

        Reply
  • Linnae April 15, 2012, 9:24 pm

    Oh these look so good Jill! I can’t wait to try them… I just need to find a good supplier of tallow. 🙂

    Reply
    • Jill April 15, 2012, 9:36 pm

      Hi Linnae,
      You could also use lard.

      Reply
  • Amber April 16, 2012, 12:12 am

    Hello Jill,

    Absolutely beautiful. I’m such a chip gal and my favorites are veggie chips (but they just cost too much). So thank you for this!

    Hugs,
    –Amber

    Reply
  • Magda April 16, 2012, 10:22 am

    Very timely Jill! I was checking out some chips at the store and they were made with canola and safflower oils…. I’ll definitely make these!!

    Reply
  • Chowstalker April 16, 2012, 12:21 pm

    I love all of your recipes Jill, but even more than that, I love how you explain so clearly why these foods are better, and what’s wrong with most convenient foods. I don’t know how so many people remain misinformed with people like you around!

    Reply
    • Jill April 16, 2012, 12:45 pm

      Hi Chowstalker,
      Thanks so much — your comments and your opinion mean a lot to me!

      Reply
  • mjskit April 16, 2012, 7:38 pm

    Oh yummy! These would be so much better and so much better for me than those chips I had this afternoon! So simple and so delicious! Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  • Meagan April 16, 2012, 9:48 pm

    I am so glad I found your blog and this post. I’m visiting from the link up. I’ve wanted to make chips like this for a long time, but never really knew how. I love buying them at Whole Foods, but I hate paying for them – they’re not cheap! Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  • Susan with Permanent Posies April 16, 2012, 10:32 pm

    So glad you included this info. My daughter is beginning the GAPS diet….as is her family. My granddaughter has constant seizures and is on 3 medications for that. My daughter is a Celiac anyway….so, she has decided to do the GAPS diet for them both. My granddaughter’s favorite food is a chip…..so, hopefully, she will like these. I am passing this on to them.

    Reply
  • France @ Beyond The Peel April 17, 2012, 12:31 pm

    Wow those sound delicious Jill. My husband would totally take the time to make these. Besides, what a pay off! These would be the best chips ever!

    Reply
  • Jaime @ Mom's Test Kitchen April 17, 2012, 3:33 pm

    These look great! I love finding different ways to sneak extra veggies in with my toddler! I think she would love these! Thank you for sharing the recipe!

    Visiting from A Southern Fairytale – Mouthwatering Mondays

    Reply
  • Alea April 17, 2012, 3:51 pm

    I love your healthy take on chips. I bet they are super tasty too.

    Reply
  • eryn April 18, 2012, 7:39 am

    These look wonderful! I’d never heard of cooking with tallow before. Now I just need to find a source for it. Thanks for the recipe! I pinned it: http://pinterest.com/pin/91690542383712157/

    Reply
  • Becky @ From Ministry to Motherhood April 18, 2012, 8:37 pm

    I just found these at the store and it’s nice to find a recipe you can make at home. They’re so expensive and you really have no idea how they made them. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  • Eileen April 18, 2012, 11:20 pm

    I like that you use grassfed lard–I’m interested in trying it out in some recipes. This recipe goes into my “to try” file for sure. We love the store-bought veggie chips, but how nice to have them homemade and really fresh.

    Reply
  • Natalie April 19, 2012, 10:20 am

    So happy to see this super blog about the chips!! I hope others enjoy these as much as we do. Thank you, also, for the kind words, we could not have accomplished anything without your guidance!

    Reply
  • Miz Helen April 20, 2012, 12:22 pm

    Hi Jill,
    I just love Veggie Chips, this is a special treat for me and I can’t wait to try your recipe! Hope you have a fabulous week end and thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday.
    Come Back Soon!
    Miz Helen

    Reply
  • Mary April 21, 2012, 11:30 am

    I entered every way possible except for tweeting. I just ran out of CLO for my two little girls and this would be great to try. Peppermint sounds yummy!

    Reply
  • Sarah @ Real Food Outlaws April 21, 2012, 8:53 pm

    This recipes looks fantastic! I can’t wait to try it!

    Reply
  • naomi April 22, 2012, 4:57 am

    They look delicious! I’ve made these with carrot shreds & parsnip too – never thought to try daikon though. x x x

    Reply
  • Candice April 22, 2012, 12:31 pm

    I’m going to make these for my husband who is mostly primal/paleo with me but loves his Kettle potato chips once in awhile. Do you think coconut oil would work for these? We have a ton of it. Thanks! Candice.

    Reply
    • Jill April 22, 2012, 4:12 pm

      Hi Candice,
      I think coconut oil would work.

      Reply
      • Amy @ Homestead Revival April 23, 2012, 1:13 pm

        This is great (coconut oil)! I was wondering the same thing. I’d love to give these a try.

        Reply
  • April @ The 21st Century Housewife April 23, 2012, 4:30 am

    I love the veggies you have used in these gorgeous chips! They sound so delicious!

    Reply
  • Janelle (Gluten Freely Frugal) April 23, 2012, 2:51 pm

    This is SUCH a great idea! Thanks for the tip, and thanks for sharing on Allergy-Free Wednesday. Hope you’ll join us again this week with another great recipe!

    Reply
  • euw elo boost June 18, 2014, 3:10 am

    Good post. I’m facing some of these issues as well..

    Reply