How to Bake Healthy Potato Chips

 By Constantinos K Costa 

It is impossible to stop with eating just one. Potato chips are a very popular snack all over the world and I don't think there will hardly be anybody who does not love eating them. With so many flavors, shapes and sizes, there's a chip for everyone's appetite.

The History

In 1853 in a diner in New York, it is said that a customer ordered fried potatoes with his meal but then sent the meal back, complaining that the fried potatoes were not crispy enough. The chef at the restaurant Mr. George Crum was furious with the complaint, so he sliced the potatoes paper thin, salted them heavily and then refried them. The chips were served as a menu item from that day on, and with their massive popularity, other restaurant owners were adding sliced potato chips on their menus.

However it was William Tappendon from Ohio who took the potato chip out of the restaurants and into the grocery stores. He turned his barn into the world's first chip factory, selling potato chips to the local groceries. In the 1920s, saw the birth of three companies that played a major role in the potato chip industry as we know it today. The three companies were "Lay's Brand Potato Chips" founded by Herman Lay, "Utz Quality Foods" founded by Bill and Sallie Utz, and "Wise Delicatessen Company" founded by Earl Wise, Sr.

Healthy Oven Baked Chips

There is only one problem with the normal potato chips we find in our local grocery store - calories! What if there was a way you can make your own potato chips at the comfort of your home, and they were healthier with a lot less calories, than your regular potato chips? Here you go...

The recipe

• Scrub your potatoes under warm running water to remove all dirt from the skin. You can peel the potatoes with a vegetable peeler or you can leave the peel on if you prefer skin-on style chips (I suggest you try both and see what you like). 

• Slice the potatoes thinly using a knife or preferably a mandolin. Try slicing to paper thin size, having in mind that the thinner the slices, the less cooking they will need. 

• Rinse the potato slices to remove any excess starch. This will reduce the overall number of calories in the chips. 

• Drain the slices with paper towel as much as possible. 

• Spray olive oil on your perforated baking pan creating a light coating. Place the potato slices in the baking pan but do not overlap. 

• Mist the potato slices lightly with olive oil by sparing on both slides. You can use tongs or chopsticks to flip the slices around. (You might want to place aluminum foil underneath your perforated pan to stop the olive oil leaking in your oven). 

• Slide the oiled chips into a 400 degree Fahrenheit (205 degree Celsius) preheated oven and let them bake for at least 5 minutes. 

• Turn your pan around in the oven, but continue to bake for the next 3-5 minutes until they are all lightly browned or until you notice that the edges start to darken. 

• When the chips are done, pull them out of the oven and season with coarse salt while they are still hot. You can additionally sprinkle a few of your favorite dried herbs and spices to customize your own baked potato chips.

Foods That Help You Lose Weight

By Flaviu Serban 

Foods that help you lose weight! Wow! How possible? Yes, it is possible. In fact you can even eat more to lose more and quickly get rid of those ugly belly fat and love handles. No joke! The right foods help you lose weight, burn excess fats and stay healthy by increasing the amount of energy you expend while curbing cravings.

Here are the foods that can help you lose weight and quickly get rid of those ugly belly fat and love handles. Add these foods to your dieting program now and you will become slimmer, younger and healthier in no time.

o Fiber - The two types of fiber, insoluble and soluble can help your weight loss efforts.

a) Insoluble fiber gives you satisfaction without adding calories. Foods that are rich in insoluble fiber include whole wheat bread, fruits and vegetables, wheat bran and high fiber cereal.

b) Soluble fiber helps stabilize your blood sugar levels, control your hunger and cravings for food. Soluble fiber also slows down the transit time of food in your gut, so it may keep you fuller for longer. Foods that are high in soluble fiber include beans, apples, strawberries, pears, oatmeal and chickpeas.

o Lean Protein - Lean Protein has the ability to increase metabolism after ingestion. It is recommended that you add some type of lean protein with every meal. Lean protein foods that help you lose weight include egg whites, shrimp, chicken breast, canned light tuna, wild salmon (fresh and canned), crab, tilapia, turkey breast, tofu, lean red meat, lentils, beans and low-fat dairy.

o Juicy Foods - Any fruit and veggies with high amount of water helps to fill your stomach and make you eat less during the day. Juicy foods that can help you lose weight and get rid of ugly belly fat and love handles include watermelon, cucumber, grapefruit, lettuce, tomatoes, mushrooms and cantaloupe.

o Lentils - Lentils are well known food that can help you get rid of those ugly belly fats and love handles. Lentils can flatten your beer belly. They are soluble fibers and high in protein - two powerful combinations that can quickly stabilize blood sugar or insulin levels. Make it a regular habit to eat lentils and you will help prevent insulin spikes that cause your body to produce excess fat, especially in the abdominal area.

o Potatoes - Boiled or baked potatoes without fat or oil added can help you lose weight and are great for your diet. You can get them mashed, with some amount of pepper and a dash of lime. Potatoes contain only 97 calories.

o Walnuts - Walnuts are high in calories and contain protein. They also contain healthy fats and omega-3 fatty acids. Walnuts make you feel full. Eating walnuts on a regularly can also help to lower cholesterol and keep you healthy.

o Spicy Foods - From personal experience, spicy food make you eat less since you are forced to drink plenty of water. You discover that you can only eat slower and drink more water. Hot spicy pepper soup without fats can help you lose weight since it increases your metabolism.

Instead of starving yourself because you want to lose weight, you can eat more and lose more. The above are foods that help you lose weight and get rid of ugly belly fat and love handles. Do not go looking for miracle diets and magic pills because researches have shown that some foods make it easier to lose weight. Try today to integrate these foods into your diet.