Some of my favorite foods are yams and sweet potatoes. My day isn’t complete (and my body complains) if I don’t eat some – every day. Being that we don’t get grain carbs on the paleo and AIP diets, these awesome tubers are a real life-saver in the carbohydrate department. Yams are high in vitamin C, potassium, manganese and fiber. Sweet potatoes are very high in vitamin A, with hearty vitamin C and B6, as well as fiber, manganese and potassium. Both are a super foods. It just happens that they make fabulous chips, which are easy to take on the trail and add a nice crunch to the day’s snacks. Below is a simple recipe for making yam and sweet potato chips for the trail.
mandoline slicer
I suggest using a mandoline slicer for these chips – you get perfectly even slices, which makes drying easier because it prevents having to spend time sorting out thin, already-done chips from thicker, not-done-yet chips. And the thinner the better, since thicker slices end up very chewy or really hard to bite through. I have this mandoline slicer, and I love it. If you’re wondering which dehydrator I use, here it is.
For instructions on how to do the optional blanching, see my page called Food Drying 101.
- 2 large sweet potatoes or yams
- Optional:
- ¼ cup melted coconut oil or olive oil
- ½ to 1 tsp sea salt, to taste
- Wash and dry the spuds.
- Slice as thin as possible with a sharp knife or mandoline slicer, or, slice into julienne-sized strips.
- (Optional: Water or steam blanch before drying.)
- (Optional: In a large bowl, mix with the oil and salt, making sure all sides get coated.)
- Place slices on dehydrator trays with a bit of space between; not much space is needed, as the slices will shrink as they dry.
- Dehydrate at 125°F for 8-12 hours, checking halfway through for even drying. The chips should not need turning in a high-quality food dehydrator.
- Chips are dry when crisp (if not coated in oil) or just a barely chewy (if coated in oil). If in doubt, dry longer.
I’m trying this recipe today! We’re going camping soon and I hope these will be tasty snacks. 🙂
Hi Michelle – I hope you like them! Make sure to slice them really thin. And as the general directions in my Food Drying 101 page mention, make sure to let them cool and then test – they will appear and feel more done when they are just out of the dryer – letting them totally cool will give you a more realistic impression. If you find they aren’t quite done, just pop them back in the dehydrator for another hour. Have a great trip!