I eat a lot of kale. Not just because of the many nutritional benefits of this seemingly “super” veg, but because I actually really enjoy the taste of kale! I was actually eating kale before it became the “it” vegetable to consume. But for my dear husband, who usually refuses to come near anything green, it has been much more of a challenge to get him to eat his full portion of greens everyday.
Besides smoothies (in which he puts a ton of other fruits and vanilla flavored protein powder to hide the taste), I’ve tried hiding kale in pasta sauces, lasagna, and even dips and hummus, but he can usually pick out the taste then promptly refuse any more. But about a year ago, I discovered a recipe that not only got my husband eating kale, but he was loving it so much that I would have to make more just so I could have some–Kale Chips!
This really is the simplest of recipes, and you can either dehydrate them in a real dehydrator, or like me, if you don’t own any such fancy machine, just use your oven. 😀
Dehydrated Kale Chips
Ingredients:
1 bunch (about 5-8 good sized leaves) organic Kale (whatever variety suits you)
1 tsp sea salt
1 tablespoon grapeseed oil
Preparation:
– Tear the leafy part of the kale away from the rib/stem (if you leave the stem the kale won’t turn crispy) into small 1-2 inch sized pieces.
– Wash kale and allow to dry almost completely (or use a salad spinner!) This is a very important step.
– distribute kale, grapeseed oil, and sea salt on a baking tray lined with foil
– Dehydrate at 115 degrees for about 5-6 hrs, or overnight.
* Optionally, set your oven to the lowest setting (on my oven that was 150 degrees), and dehydrate for 5-6 hrs.
Ok… I have a confession. Because I’m impatient, sometimes I just pop them in the oven at 220 degrees for about 1.5 hrs, then voila! The ultimate crunchy kale chip. Not exactly raw…but shhhh, that’s our secret. And come on, they are still irresistible!
I started seeing Kale Chips being sold at the market for outrageous amounts. One teeny 0.5 oz bag for $5 whole dollars! My entire batch (probably would have filled 2 or 3 of those tiny chip bags I’ve seen in the store) cost me a whopping $1.35. 😀 There’s no question about it folks, this case of DIY totally takes the cake. eats the cake? wins the cake? Eh, you know what i mean! Enjoy the recipe, and get your greens on!
thesimpleskinny 