I want french fries. I want french fries. I want french fries. Did I mention, I want french fries?!?!? I’m on my “No Pasta, No Potatoes” lifestyle and will be through May 2018. It’s a daily struggle and – oh, I messed up a few weeks ago. I’ll tell you that story soon. Other than that time, I fight with my taste buds, discipline, and willpower every day, with every meal. WHEW!
The Mistake: I had a craving for french toast. I stopped by the restaurant near my Cubby Hole (apartment) to place an order. However, it was after 11 a.m. They were done serving breakfast and at 11:15 a.m., refused to bend the rule. So I left and ventured over to IHOP.
As soon as I was greeted inside of IHOP, I placed my order: Country fried steak, eggs scrambled hard with french toast instead of pancakes. The hostess didn’t mention anything else that came with the order and I hadn’t ordered breakfast from IHOP in years. Imagine my surprise when I got home, opened up my packages, and saw some deliciously cooked hash browns aka POTATOES! OH YES GOD!
I stared at the beautiful shreds of potato that were nestled together in a crispy, pallet form and browned to perfection. The more I stared at this work-of-art, the more I realized, I could not allow my money to go to waste. I decided IT’S HAPPENING! I sprinkled black pepper and went to work. The hash browns didn’t stand a chance. In my moment of TOTAL gratification I confessed, “If I am diagnosed with diabetes after this, I’m just supposed to have it!”
Fast forward, I have not made another mistake since and trying hard not to repetitiously offend. That being said, brings me to today’s battle I almost lost.
Breakfast consisted of two “egg bites” with bacon from Starbucks. Lunch consisted of 20 McNuggets with honey from McDonald’s. For dinner, all I wanted was a chicken salad sandwich with Lay’s potato chips. Oh wait, I can’t eat potatoes. But the sandwich won’t taste good alone. I racked my brain for an hour thinking of a quick side to accompany my sandwich. It finally hit me! I’ll have jicama fries!
I Googled all the necessary information on jicama and how to make jicama fries. Every recipe said the process was all of 45 minutes to an hour. My hunger pains were increasing. I almost scratched the jicama fries idea until I remembered that I have a deep fryer. I’m back in business.
I go to Ralphs (totally disrespecting my Vons’ JustForU membership) and grab a jicama. While looking for gorgonzola cheese, I see jicama slices. I grab the slices and put the uncut jicama back in the produce section. YAY, I don’t have to peel, cut or slice. My meal plan is looking quite promising for the evening.
Once I return home, I rush into the kitchen. I’m now ready to eat! I mean, READY! I toast the sourdough bread on the stove in butter. I put the jicama slices in a bowl, squeeze a little lime, then season them with onion powder, garlic powder, and black pepper. I do not cook them. I’m so hungry, I’m eating the jicama slices raw!
My bread is crisp. My jicama is seasoned. My apple juice is in my cup on ice. All that’s left is to put the chicken salad in between the two crisp slices of bread. I form my sandwich and adjourn to the living room. I take a bite of my sandwich and smile. While still chewing, I bite a bit of the seasoned jicama. OH, DELICIOUS! The raw, crunchy, cold of the jicama was a refreshing addition to the flavor party happening in my mouth from my sandwich alone. Who knew!? I’d never had jicama by itself, normally just in a salad. I was quite pleased.
The jicama tasted like the offspring of a Granny Smith apple and a radish lightly sweetened. Maybe that was the lime juice, I couldn’t tell. It was the perfect french fry substitute. My next venture will be baking the jicama and then deep-frying it. I’ve GOT to try it with cheese, being the extreme cheese lover that I am.
Writing Waves 