I avoid regular potatoes, but baby potatoes have an intermediate GI and sweet potatoes a low GI. I miss my fries like crazy, so a loving aunt came up with this recipe:
Preheat oven to 180 (356 fahrenheit) degrees. Parboil or microwave a mix of sweet and baby/new potatoes to soften them. If you mix the low GI with the intermediate, it brings down the GI for the meal. Quarter them. Season to taste. You can use salt, pepper, rosemary, paprika, etc. Spray a baking tray with a low fat, non-stick cooking spray. Arrange potatoes on tray. Bake for fifteen minutes, then flip over and bake for another fifteen minutes or until crispy. Serve with sauce or topping of your choice, e.g. reduced sugar ketchup or chutney, a small amount or sweet chili sauce, or regular or balsamic vinegar (the vinegar will help to bring the GI of the meal down further, so it’s a good choice).
Baked sweet potatoes were used to be sold in Cairo streets in the season,The man put the potatos in furnace,on the wheel cart,he pushed it in the streets and went from street to another.Our treat in winter months were sweet potatoes baked in our oven…memories.Megan you are so sweet.
Balsamic vinegar does contain carbs, unlike other vinegars. Guess that’s why it tastes better!
For others who may not be able to tolerate potatoes without spikes (I can’t), here’s an alternative. Peel & slice raw turnips. Fry in olive oil & then sprinkle with salt, pepper, garlic, paprika or anything you like. Turnips cook faster than potatoes.
I love raw turnips. I used to eat them when i was a kid. Now when I make a vegie tray at family get togethers I peel and slice a raw turnip and eat a slice or two for myself. Marie B also shared her love of parsnips with me. I like those most of all roasted along with cauliflower. I peel and slice the parsnips and slice the cauliflower about a half inch thick, spray the pan with a butter flavored cooking spray and then spray the vegetables before putting them in the oven. They only need about 20 minutes or so and taste so good roasted.
I was stunned to find out about balsamic vinegar. I love it & pour it on. Well, used to pour it on:) It doesn’t have a ton of carbs, but if you’re counting figure it in.
The longer parsnips are roasted, the better they are. They taste bitter to me if they’re not roasted.
Turnips have a distinct flavor. Think it’s a love em or hate em thing. They’re crunchy raw, add a lot of flavor to soups, but I like them best fried.
I tried the baby potato wedges for supper three days ago, but this time drenched them in vinegar. Firstly, they were delicious (I LOVE french fries with vinegar), and secondly, I couldn’t believe my BS. An hour after eating it was 7.2 (129.6) - it’s usually much higher! AND, the next day I had a low fasting BS. This is now one of my most favoured meals!
Another version of the wedges is to use butternut, which has been found to have a low GI in South Africa. I used to make a potato bake with butternut, sweet potato and potato, which, if I switch the potato to baby potato and the cream to skim milk, I should still be able to eat. I’ll try it out and let you know!
To simulate a fast food type of meal, I served the potato wedges with spicy chicken strips. I took skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut them into strips, and sprinkled them liberally with spices. I used salt, “chicken spice”, and Aromat. I’ve seen a similar recipe with soy sauce and orange juice. I stuck them in the fridge while working on the potatoes. When it was time to flip the potatoes, and stuck the chicken in the oven for the last 15 minutes of cooking. You should arrange them on a baking sheet sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. They will be ready at the same time as the wedges. Serve with a salad or other veggies.
OH my this sounds delicious! Just today, I had to watch my non-diabetic friend wolf down a plateful of french fries with bread and burger while I ate salmon with asparagus. Baby potato wedges? I wonder where you can get baby potatoes? Are they the small ones?
Thanks Megan. Now I have to go back to the store tomorow. I need some baby potatoes and some balsamic vinegar. Would the vinegar taste good on the other vegies as well? Sometimes I use some mayo, a touch of vinegar and a touch of horseradish blended together for a dip I also like some mayo and brown mustard together for some things., Mostly that is a summer sausage or beef sausage to go with the mayo and brown mustard. I bet the chicken would be good with that too. This potato idea is making me drool.
I saw fingerling potatoes at the market today. Wonder if these are the same as baby potatoes?
Sounds very yummy!
Megan, you can use cream. Cream has less carbs than low fat milk.
Your chicken recipe reminded me of another using boneless, skinned breasts cut into strips. Wash & pat dry–they have to be really dry. Roll in grated parmesean cheese & whatever spices you like. The cheese forms a nice crust & keeps the chicken moist. It’s low carb & easy.
I use the parmesan cheese for the chicken also. But I wash and dry the chicken and then brush it lightly with mayo so that the cheese sticks to the chicken and then bake it I season it too with different things depending on what dish I am making. I really like fresh mozzarella with various things for the chicken too.
Hi Gerri! In South Africa, “baby potatoes” are the same as “new potatoes”, which, according to this website, are the same as the American “fingerlings”. There are so many different names for food around the world, it gets quite confusing.
In terms of portion size, 15 grams carbs = 3-5 new potatoes (depending on the size of the potatoes). It doesn’t sound like a lot, but remember that you quarter each potato so you do end up with a fair number of wedges. You should also keep the skin on the wedges, as it adds fibre and lowers the GI.
I must add, I use a hell of a lot of (white wine) vinegar on my chips. I grew up eating “slap chips”, so I have developed a taste for potatoes swimming in vinegar. If you’re not used to them, it might take a while to develop the taste.
FYI: Slap chips (‘Slup chips’)
When French Fries are thick and long and don’t go crispy in the oil. They are soft and stodgy, ideal for mixing in mounds of tomato sauce or vinegar, or both. Slap is Afrikaans for limp. This is another staple food for surfers.
Slap chips (pronounced slup chips) - French fries, usually soft, oily and vinegar-drenched, bought in a brown paper bag. “Slap” is an Afrikaans word meaning “limp”, which is how French fries are generally made here. If that’s not how you like them, be sure to order them “crispy”
A recipe I know a lot of people use (but I haven’t gotten quite right yet with the vinegar) is this:
Preheat oven to 180 (356) degrees.
Choose some veggies from this list:
peppers
onion
carrots
new potatoes/fingerlings
cauliflower
brocolli
zucchini
garlic
butternut
sweet potatoes
Chop them up and put in a roasting pan. Drizzle olive oil (plain), or balsamic (mixed half and half with olice oil), or lemon juice (also lowers GI, similar to vinegar - 2 parts lemon juice to 1 part olive oil) over. Add salt, pepper, other spices (I recommend cinnamon on the butternut) or herbs (rosemary is good). Cover with tin/aluminium foil and bake for 45 minutes to an hour, depending on how soft you like it.
The thing to remember is that once you warm the vinegar up it’s not at bitter, and actually becomes a bit sweet.
I love vinegar & can’t wait to try it like this. Heating the vinegar first–great hint. I make a braised red cabbage recipe that uses a lot of vinegar. Now I know why it comes out so good because the vinegar is heated during the cooking. It also has apples, red wine. Great combo of sweet & tart.
Slap chips–thanks for the info–love learning these things.
How wonderful! I love taters and was not looking forward to giving them up as I swing into this low-carb thing, but little potatoes will be a good treat! I also like the chicken “breaded” in parmesan and even mayo as a “sticker.” This low-carb thing sounds better every day!
Try this! Dice up sweet potatoes, turnip, squash…whatever veggie, and in a ziplock bag, mix a bit of olive oil with a packet of onion soup mix, throw in the veggies, and then dump then on a baking sheet and put them in the oven until tender.
