Kale Chips- the Secrets Revealed

On my quest for a healthier diet, I have been experimenting with how to create a kale chip, that is not only nutritious but is tasty.

We have heard time and time again about kale. It's the new IT vegetable. It seems kale has crept into everything from soups to salads to pestos, but I have to say I think the best way is as a snack. So here is my version of kale chips. I know you have read how to make them a thousand times but humor me and read my version. Spoiler alert, I added an additional use for the kale chips



YIELD: SERVES 2


PREP TIME: 15 MINUTES

COOK TIME: 15 MINUTES

TOTAL TIME: 30 MINUTES

Ingredients:

1 bunch of kale (about 6 ounces), washed and dried really well
1 tsp of olive oil
1/4-1/2 tsp of salt

Directions:


Pre-heat oven to 300

Remove the stem for each kale leaf and rip or cut the leaves into bite size pieces (now they do shrink when you bake them)

Place kale in a large bowl and toss with olive oil and salt. Take a minute to massage the kale, make sure each piece is lightly coated (very lightly coated). This is an important step if they are coated too much, they will not crisp up, and if under coated they will become ashy. There is an art to it, so you might have to make a couple of batches before you get the hang of it. So be patient, trust me it takes a couple of batches before I get the feel for it.

Spread kale out on two baking sheets, make sure they do not overlap. Another little bit of sage advice, make sure they do not overlap, as that will cause them to steam and you will get a soggy mess.  So make sure there is ample space between the bits for the crisp

Pop the trays in the oven for about fifteen minutes or until your leaves are crispy, crunchy! Serve in a bowl and enjoy!!

Nutritional Analysis

Nutrient per 1/2 of recipe; Calories: 81 Total Fat: 5.1g; Saturated Fat: 0.7g; Cholesterol: 0mg; Sodium: 600mg; Carbohydrate: 8.4g; Dietary Fiber: 1.7g; Sugars: 0g; Protein: 2.8g

Kale-Dusted Popcorn

Did you know you can add kale chips (well really flakes) to popcorn?  I know who knew.  All you  need is a mortar and pestle (I actually have this piece of kitchen equipment which maybe a shock to anyone who knows me), anyway grind them up and sprinkled it over popcorn.  Now since we are trying to make this healthy, I do not want to hear that you used microwave buttered popcorn.  Repeat after me, air popcorn, that is the only way you can make this snack.  Now I am only kidding.  You can add other season such as salt, that is up to you, have fun with it

 I liked this snack, but I think next time I am going to add a little extra something and make it super healthy.  You heard right EVEN healthier, because I am going to add dried yeast.  WHAT dried yeast.  Oh wait for future post when I discuss the benefits of dried yeast but for now I will just let you ponder it, or if you are daring enough you can google it.