Starches, such as potatoes, are complete foods that help you meet nutritional needs, boost energy, and satisfy hunger. They contain very little fat and insignificant cholesterol. A starch-rich diet helps you to lose weight and prevent illness. I often design many meals off of a very simple potato chip recipe. To make the chips, I do not use any oil, or any other ingredient. Making these simple, clean-burning potato chips will help you achieve greater health, and in this post, I'll show you how.

Starches for Vitality

Dr. John A. McDougall, MD is a physician, nutrition expert, and plant-based leader focused on the relationship between nutrition and disease. In his book, The Starch Solution, he explains why starchy foods help us to maintain a healthy weight and prevent many common Western illnesses. Starches are a valuable carbohydrate that provide us with sustained energy. Some examples of starchy vegetables are potatoes, squash (all varieties), sweet potatoes, and yams.

Potato Chip Instructions

To make my potato chips, I simply take small organic potatoes from my local farmer's market or Whole Foods in varieties such as red jacket potatoes, yellow creamer potatoes, Adirondack blue potatoes, or fingerlings. Any type of potato will do and there are many! I take each potato and slice it twice the long way to get 3 sections. Be careful to keep your fingers clear of the knife!

The next step is to spread the potatoes out on a stainless steel cookie sheet, making sure that each chip is touching the baking sheet and none are layered on top of each other. Then they can go into the oven at 450 degrees for 20 minutes. You will know they are done when your kitchen smells richly of potato. These chips are thick and should be soft on the inside with crispy skins (maybe even "bubbles" on the best ones!)

Superior to Your Typical Chip

Unlike processed potato chips and french fries, these chips are 100% oil free and are a health food, not a junk food. We omit unnecessary ingredients found in processed food that are actually lab chemicals and not food and, very importantly, we bake potatoes without oil, because oil is not needed for taste or to keep chips from sticking to the baking sheet. Most people don't realize that oil increases the risk of heart disease just as much as butter.

Add to Many Plant-based Meals

These plant-based potato chips can be added as a side dish to many wonderful meals. I have paired them with wraps (as pictured with organic tortilla, spinach, avocado, salsa, and oil free hummus), salads (as pictured with organic spinach, avocado, Mary's Gone Crackers crumbles, and oil-free dressing), or often as part of a vegetable plate (as pictured with avocado, cooked spinach, and sweet corn on the cob).

Enjoy this chip and all of its many health benefits, Forkful of Love Friends! Please use #theforkfulway on Twitter and Instagram when you post your Forkful of Love inspired dishes. We'd LOVE to see what you are making!