We interrupt our sewing to bring you . . .Sweet Potato Chips!

Being the mother of a Blue Front Amazon parrot who is 30 years old can be quite an awesome responsibility.  Most people don't have pets with lifespans that equal or exceed their own.  As such, I'm always looking for nutritious snacks that Gloria will enjoy.  Since parrots in captivity often need additional vitamin A, sweet potatoes are a frequent choice.  Gloria is also fond of crunchy things so sweet potato chips seemed like a logical choice.  Commercial ones don't fit the bill as parrots should not have most oils or salt so it makes sense to make them myself.  I was amazed at how easy it is!

You will need:
sweet potatoes
coconut oil
seasoning

I like to use garnet sweet potatoes that are fairly straight.  Peel the sweet potato and cut the ends off. I like to slice the sweet potato perpendicular which makes smaller chips.  They do shrink too.  If you are making them for humans, you may wish to slice them diagonally to have larger chips.

Thinly slice the potato using your method of choice.  I like using a mandoline as it allows me more control--though my Cuisinart would certainly do the job.  I set my mandoline for 1/8 inch slices.

Melt a small amount of coconut oil in the microwave.  I used about a teaspoon.  I could probably use less.  Another option, if you really want to avoid oil, is to skip this step and lightly spray the chips with a coconut oil spray.  Add the sweet potatoes, oil and any seasonings to a plastic bag and shake so all the slices are covered.  Parrots love hot peppers so I use crushed red pepper on our chips.

Lay the chips out in a single layer on baking sheets and sprinkle with additional seasoning if desired.

Bake for 40 minutes in a 200 degree oven.  After 40 minutes, turn the chips over and return to the oven for another 40 minutes.  

Watch the chips.  They will curl a bit as they shrink.  You may need to bake them longer or they may be done a little early.  They need to be hard.  Mine were clearly not done after the second 40 minutes. Bake until they are leathery, then take them out.   They will get hard and crisp if they are done.  If they aren't crisp, put them back in the oven for 10 minute increments.  I ended up baking these an additional 30 minutes. You can probably reduce the baking time by increasing the temperature.

I think I find these to be as tasty as Gloria does because every time I give her one, I eat two!