Patti Diamond: How to eat chips while staying healthy

You wanna know what I am powerless to resist? Potato chips.

To tell the truth, I have a hard time refusing anything salty, crunchy, and crispy. Especially BBQ potato chips, OMG. I can pass up a cupcake, but those chips are the kryptonite to my super Diva powers.

Like so many of us, I’m trying so hard to provide healthy options for my family, friends and myself. One way to satisfy our cravings for salty snacks is to make chips using sliced vegetables other than potatoes and oven bake them so they’re not fried.

This recipe for baked zucchini chips is crazy delicious. Honestly, you’ll forget you’re eating veggies. Make more than you think you could possibly consume and watch them disappear. Particularly divine paired with a buttery chardonnay.

You can cut these into round slices if you like. I made ribbons this time for aesthetic reasons. Aren’t they pretty? Please say yes. This time of year, the zucchini in supermarkets seem so small. The crisps just looked better in ribbons rather than a thousand tiny rounds. Easier to make, too.

In the summer zucchini tend to be a bit larger. Especially if you have access to home-grown ones. Remember this recipe when zucchini is in season and everyone is begging you to take a zucchini and give it a good home. It’s an excellent use for those baseball bat-sized giant zukes from meemaw’s garden.

BLACK PEPPER PARMESAN

ZUCCHINI CRISPS

What You’ll Need:

5 small or 2 large zucchinis, thinly sliced

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 ½ cups shredded Parmesan

Optional - sauce for dipping

Here’s How:

Preheat oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Spray a light mist of cooking spray on the parchment. Slice the zucchini very thin with a sharp knife or, preferably, a mandolin slicer set to 1/32 of an inch.

If you don’t have a mandolin and like to make fabulous food, you need to get one. But please remember they’re basically V-shaped razor blades so use the hand guard. You don’t need to be afraid of the mandolin, but you must respect it.

Arrange zucchini slices close together on baking sheet and spray with cooking spray. Season with salt and pepper. Top each with Parmesan. Bake until deeply golden and crisp, 20 to 25 minutes. Keep an eye on them. It’s okay if they burn a little. Those are the best ones. If your chips are floppy, reduce the temperature to 300°F and give them another 10 minutes.

Variations - Add garlic and Italian seasoning to the zucchini and serve with marinara. Replace the parmesan with bread crumbs, add sweet paprika and cumin and serve with a mix of adobe or sriracha and sour cream. Add curry and serve with sour cream, grated cucumber and garlic.

Baked zucchini crisps are a smart and healthy snack everyone will love. They’re crispy, crunchy, gloriously guilt-free little nibbles. There’s never been a better time to bake up a batch. Who doesn’t love a new way to get your five a day?

Frugal foods contributed by Patti Diamond, from Divas On A Dime – Where Frugal, Meets Fabulous! www.divasonadime.com Join us on Facebook at DivasOnADimeDotCom.