Kale Chips

Make these...and Lays will never taste the same. Promise.

I owe Katherine Scott for giving me her recipe for these chips. You can find hundreds of recipe combinations online, but this one is definitely my favorite.

I can remember the first time I bought kale. It wasn't that long ago. I had been reading about it randomly for a while, and never really thought about trying it until I saw a picture of it in a magazine. "So THAT'S what it looks like" I thought to myself as I thumbed through Women's Health. Hmm. I passed it a few times in the produce section as I grocery shopped, consciously looking out for different dark leafy greens. I wanted to try something other than spinach or romaine in my salads so one day I braved it, picked it up, put it in my cart, and never looked back. 

Plain kale is bitter, curly, and tough to chew. I've grown accustomed to it in my salads, but it's not the most popular green to eat by itself. It is, to say the least, a powerhouse of nutrients. (It is most famous for it's abundance of vitamin K, but it also has crazy amounts of vitamins B2, B3, B6, B12, C, E, beta-carotene, folic acid, lutien, calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, potassium, silica, zinc, falvonoids, glucosinolates, and fiber. If you really needed more of a reason to eat kale, there ya go!) Kale is very versitile and can be made in dozens of different ways, other than just salads. I have a special recipe for kale salad (I'll share it later) that has become a favorite of me and Mike's. It used to be that I couldn't pay Michael to eat kale salad, but this recipe I found worked miracles. I love putting kale in green smoothies; there is nothing easier than 2 bananas, a bunch of kale leaves, 2 cups water, and 1 cup ice. Ta da! Breakfast.

 An absolute FAVORITE way for us to prepare kale though, has become kale chips. It started before I became raw. I simply washed and broke up the kale into bite size pieces, put in on a pan, sprayed with cooking oil, sprinkled with salt, and put in the oven at 350 for 10 minutes. Simple, crunchy, delicious. I have since tried other ways of making them and by FAR this is my favorite. Best. Kale. Chips. Every time. I have to distract myself or else I'll be tempted to pull them out of the dehydrator before they're done, they're THAT good. (At a health food store, you would pay $5+ for a few ounces of these kind of chips.) This does require a dehydrator, you could probably make them in the oven just fine, but they're SO good when dehydrated. 

Start out by blending the following ingredients til smooth:

3 T nutritional yeast (not necessary, but gives a lot of flavor)

1/4 cup olive oil

1 cup raw cashews

1 bunch cilantro

1 T lemon juice

1 red, orange, or yellow pepper

1 jalapeno

1 t salt

In a separate bowl, have ready 2 bunches of kale, washed, and torn into bite size pieces 

Pour over the kale, massaging sauce so it covers every leaf. Put in the dehydrator for 8-10 hours at 110 degrees. Enjoy!

(before dehydrated)

(after)

Michael and I are taking a roadtrip tomorrow to California to visit his grandparents. I made a batch of this for the car ride. Sure, Michael has his potato chips but we will both be snacking on these the whole way down. They crunch the same, taste fresh, and my favorite thing about them: you know exactly what went into them. I am excited to show pictures here next week of California. Grandpa Wren keeps an impeccable garden and I am looking forward to learning about what he does and enjoying what he's grown! More to come...