Avoiding Sneaky Gluten- Sweet Potato Fries with Sriracha Ketchup

Fries are one bar food that could be easily shared with a group of people and would usually not bother me if eaten in small amounts. That was until recently. I was told by a restaurant manager that fries are no longer GF, even if fried in a separate fryer. Apparently they fry better after being rolled in flour and this trend is becoming more popular within the restaurant community.

We decided to bake our own version at home to go with turkey burgers we made. And what goes best with fries? Sriracha ketchup! We used one large sweet potato, sliced into wedges and tossed in seasoned olive oil. The olive oil was seasoned with cumin, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper and garlic powder. The fries were spread out on a cookie sheet and a little more garlic power and red pepper flakes were added. The Sriracha Ketchup was made with ketchup, few tablespoons Sriracha, cumin and red pepper flakes. Honestly, taste testing the ketchup was best for determining proper amounts of each ingredient. 

Ingredients:

- 1 large sweet potato

- 2-3 tbsp olive oil

- Seasoning: cumin, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper and garlic powder

- 1/4 c ketchup

- 2-3 tbsp Sriracha

- Seasoning: cumin and red pepper flakes

Recipe:

We combined all the spices with the 2-3 tbsp olive oil in a large bowl. We added the sweet potato wedges to the seasoned olive oil, tossing them around to make sure they were all covered. They were spread across a cookie sheet, added additional red pepper flakes and garlic powder and then baked them at 450 for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. While they were baking, I added the Sriracha, ketchup and seasoning in a small bowl. This made a lot but I will never let ketchup go to waste. I put it on a lot of foods.

Avoiding Sneaky Gluten - Taco Seasoning

Here, we introduce a new segment called "Avoiding Sneaky Gluten". Gluten (that little freaker-sneaker) frequently makes it's way into foods that you would not suspect. We're going to try to profile some of these sneaky foods with ways to avoid them.

Usually, Tex-Mex meals are the most delicious and easy to make naturally gluten-free. Rice and corn products combined with veggies, yum! I have made this known to my friends and family for the main purpose of social gatherings. My mom, who loves to cook and is quite good at it, has had 24 years to get used to cooking dairy free options for me. This whole gluten-free thing is new and tricky. While Tex-Mex has seemed to be the safest meal option, there have been multiple times recently that I've had to enjoy vegan tacos instead of the regular chicken, turkey or beef options because of the taco seasoning they used with the meat.

My friends and family members, as well as myself the first few times, were shocked when they realized the seasoning contained gluten. It was something I never even considered would bother me until I randomly checked because, well, ya just never know with gluten. I'm glad I did and have warned my friends and family about it. Even the taco seasonings that I have found to be "gluten free" contain not so great ingredients, such as dairy and MSG. I try to avoid MSG if possible after reading how it affects other people. So this has led to making a more natural and gluten-free version. We made it in bulk so we even saved money in the end... Healthier and Cheaper!

Ingredients (from allrecipes.com: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/taco-seasoning-i/)

1 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

Common Taco Seasonings and Links to ingredients:
McCormick - Contains dairy ingredients.

Pace - Contains Wheat Flour   
Ortega - Contains Maltodextrin

Old El Paso - Contains MSG