Actually Cheesy Cheese Fries

I love snack foods, my all time favorite being BBQ Black Bean Bearitos. Sadly, I’m a bit of a low carb kick now which means that they are unfortunately out of my diet with a whopping 13 carbs per ounce. My nutritionist wants me on only 14 carbs per day, which means just one handful would basically be all the carbs I was allowed in one day!

In an attempt to cheer me up and resume our typical lunchtime noshing, my husband worked to make a low carb solution…using cheese.

Considering my favorite part of Bearitos is the crunch and the seasonings, it wasn’t too difficult to find a low carb corn substitute. Cheese bakes incredibly well and is incredibly versatile. Especially considering all the different base options: pepperjack, cheddar, mozzarella…it’s almost impossible to get bored with this recipe!

Cookware
-2 baking pans
-Parchment paper
-Mixer 
-Blender
-Piping bag

Ingredients
-4 eggs
-1/8 tsp cream of tartar
-3 oz shredded cheese
-2 tbsp almond flour
-1/2 tsp salt
-1/2 tsp pepper
-1/2 tsp garlic powder

Prestep: Make sure to freeze the cheese in the freezer at least 6 hours before preparing.

Steps 

1. The first thing you need to do is whip your egg whites with the cream of tartar, the stiffer the better. I put the yolks in a separate container and store them in the fridge overnight and make an omelet out of them in the morning. Be careful not to get any yolk in your egg whites, you really want stiff peaks here.
2. Remove the cheese from the freezer and place in your blender. Turn it up to the mill setting. You don’t want it to be melted, but you want it fine enough to resemble sprinkled parm cheese. 
3. Mix the cheese with your almond flour, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Gently fold through the egg white mixture, but be careful not to over-stir it.
4. Cover two baking pans with parchment paper and fill the piping bag with your egg mixture. It should come out pretty smoothly, but be sure to remove any clogs with a toothpick.
5. You can make these as big or as short as you want. You can also make fun shapes like pretzels, although they do tend to come out a lot thinner and crispier than their counterparts. 
6. Bake at 350 for about 10-12 minutes. You want them to be firm, but be careful not to overcook them. Burnt fries are never tasty!
7. Sprinkle or toss with whatever seasonings you want, or serve with BBQ sauce, ketchup, honey mustard…whatever you’re craving. Enjoy!!

This recipe makes roughly 2 servings if you eat a whole tray yourself. The nutrition facts here include 4 large egg whites, 2 tbsp almond flour, and 3 oz of Skellig Sweet Cheddar Cheese. Adding your own seasonings, dips, or your own special twist will vary the nutrition facts a bit!