Kale Chips

K is for Kale Chips.

Kale is a very versatile, healthy and nutritious addition to any salad or even soup to increase your intake of green, leafy vegetables.  Like most green, leafy vegetables, it is low in calories, yet kale is high in Vitamin A and Vitamin C.

But let's just say, for instance, that you are trying to eat healthy and are craving something salty and crunchy.  Your first thought would be to grab a handful of potato chips to satisfy those cravings.  But wait, did you know that you can use kale to make delicious kale chips that will not only satisfy those cravings, but also offer a healthier, less processed alternative.

Ingredients

1 bunch of organic kale
1 teaspoon of celtic salt (or any other type of salt)
1 teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Remove the leaves from the stems of the kale with either a knife or kitchen shears.
• Wash the leaves and dry thoroughly using paper towels or a salad spinner.
• Drizzle the leaves with olive oil.  
• Use your hands to evenly coat the kale leaves.
• Sprinkle celtic salt over the leaves.
• Lay the leaves on the parchment paper lined baking sheet evening in a single layer.
• Bake for 10-15 minutes or until leaves are brown, not burnt.
• Let cool and enjoy (and try not to eat all of them).

Options:

• Sprinkle finely granted parmesan cheese on the kale leaves before baking for a nice cheesy taste.
• Sprinkle nutritional yeast on the kale leaves before baking for a cheesy taste if you are dairy free/vegan.
• Experiment with different spices for different flavors.  For example, red pepper flakes for a spicy taste, etc.  

Now that you know how to make kale chips, I do urge you to make more than one batch, especially if you have kids or other grown up kids (a/k/a other adults) in the house as one batch will last all of 2 minutes before you even have a chance to eat any.  

What flavor of kale chips are you going to try?  Which flavor that you tried was a "no go?"