crispy baked sweet potato & beet chips

veggies are one of those challenging aspects of a healthy diet.  they are certainly not a common craving of mine, at least not until this pregnancy.  since the start of my second trimester, i just can't get enough squash, parsnips or sweet potato.  they say you crave what your body needs - which is funny because for my first pregnancy all i craved was chlorinated water & hot dogs... neither of which i think offered any essential nutrients.  but this pregnancy is a different story.  i am not typically a fan of veggies but i decided, for the sake of my kids, to give them a fair try.  and now i love them... this could just be one of those weird pregnancy altering hormone things but i'm hoping it lasts well past the third trimester.

the kids have unfortunately inherited my carb addictive behaviour which we are working hard to rectify.  they love anything that resembles toast or crackers.  i try to least make sure any carbs they consume are whole grain paired with some kind of protein.  however, there are only so many ways to prepare crackers & cheese or toast & peanut butter.  it's easy but just so boring & i don't want to get in a rut.  i want to keep them guessing & expanding their little taste buds as much as possible.  i recently found this creative little recipe from happy healthy mama & it was perfect! crispy crunchy like a cracker but full of veggie nutrients.  i ended up loving them even more than the kids which is great news because i can eat as many as i like adding up to a nice little total of veggie servings at the end of the day.

so without further adieu, here is the recipe for crispy baked sweet potato & beet chips.

1-2 beets, peeled & thinly sliced {the thinner the better - think slices will cause them to be soggy instead of crisp.  you can use a mandoline or i just used the thin slice setting on my food process}

1 large sweet potato, thinly sliced {don't bother to peel the sweet potatoes}

olive oil cooking spray

sea salt {i used veggie salt}

preheat oven to 350 degrees.  generously spray 2-4 baking sheets with the olive oil cooking spray {if you have a large oven you can do them all at once but i just did mine in batches}.  place the thin slices on baking sheet so they are not touching or overlapping.  spray the top with the olive oil spray & sprinkle with your desired amount sea salt {just a pinch will do ya... i definitely over-salted the first time thinking these would taste terrible}.  bake for 10 minutes, then remove the trays and flip over {i just flipped them by hand, it was the fastest}.  bake for another 5-9 minutes.  you really want to watch the chips at the end to watch them at just the right time and not allow them to burn.  when they start to look like they are brown, they are ready.  the timing seems to be different each time; it really depends on your oven, the size of your chips, etc.

when you first pull them out of the oven, they will not feel crispy.  allow them to sit for a minute or so on the pan & they will crisp up.  if they don't they need another minute or two in the oven.  these should be crispy, not soft or soggy at all.

continue with next batch & enjoy!
thanks happy healthy mama, these are the best!