Spicy Jicama "Fries!!"

I have seriously been slacking in the blog post department, but I'm going to be easy on my self and treat myself with love, and say that it is ok. I have so many great posts for you to come, but between my raw dessert company getting off the ground, graduate school and my damn organic chem class, (I mean, my wonderful o chem class...), I haven't had much time to sit and write. Luckily o chem is finishing in the next 4 weeks, so I will finally have some of my life back! :) I'm so excited. I've decided that to congratulate myself for finishing up all my science pre reqs (anatomy, physio, 3 chems, math, bio, med terminology...) over the past 2.5 years (with a 4.0 so far, btw. lol), I'm making myself a gigantic, multi layered raw vegan ice cream cake. I think I'm more excited for that than I am for my classes to be done!! I haven't decided yet what flavor it will be, but I'm leaning towards some sort of butter pecan/caramel with maybe banana. Or maybe brownie and cookie dough. Or mint chocolate....Ok, I 'm basically just leaning towards an ice cream cake in general :) I guess it will depend on how I'm feeling. Carvel, but in a healthy-raw-vegan-I won't die after-I-eat-this way, here I come!

Now for today's recipe! I have been slightly addicted to jicama, and to my jicama fries, for quite some time now. The farmers at the market I go to often set aside all of the jicama they have for me to make sure I get my fix. Up until the past few days, I just thought I liked them just bc I have weird tastes, but two of my friends, Bobby and Collette, both tried them and went nuts over them! So I guess they are good. The best part is that they are easy to make, super healthy, extremely low in calories (if you are watching that), and delicious! They make a great snack or addition to a meal.

You can eat them two ways: either raw, which is a crunchy yummy snack, or you can dehydrate (or cook) them to make them extremely similar to french fries. It really just depends on your mood. Same with the spices you use. I will tell you what I like best currently, but you can always experiment with flavors to suit your own taste buds.

Easy as pie....er Jicama:

Ingredients:
Jicama
Cold-Pressed Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Lime Juice (squeeze from 1 fresh lime)
Paprika
Garlic Powder
Turmeric (just a few shakes, bc it can have a bitter taste)
Sea Salt
Cayenne Pepper (you can control how spicy you want them)
Ground Black Pepper
1 cup Nutritional Yeast (this makes cheesy fries)

To Do:
-Peel the jicama and cut it into slices roughly the size of thick french fries. Put into large bowl.

- Pour olive oil (I don't know exactly how much, but probably 3 tbsp- just enough to very lightly coat the jicama) and lime juice and stir with a large spoon until all the pieces seem coated.

-Add all the other spices except the nutritional yeast and stir. Basically, you just want to coat all of the fries with the spice mix. Taste, and add any ingredient that you feel is lacking. I use a LOT of garlic and pepper!

-Add nutritional yeast to make them cheesy tasting and stir until the flakes have blended into the coating.

****Nutritional yeast is non active, and is an amazing source of vitamin B-12, which many vegans have trouble getting enough of. It is also a complete protein, and naturally low in fat and sodium! I love this little guy, and adds a cheesy flavor to anything.****

-You can either enjoy them as is, or dehydrate at 130 degrees for roughly 2 hours, or until most of the water has been evaporated- You can tell bc they resemble the old french fries you used to eat. You can also bake them on tinfoil in the oven.

YUM! Store them in the fridge in an airtight container. If you have chosen to make them into actual fries, they will get a little soggy like "normal" fries, so it's best to eat them right away, though they taste amazing either way.