Meatless Monday - All Hail Kale - KALE CHIPS

I'm a big advocate of the highly underrated kale. It’s sort of the Superman of dark, leafy green things. It’s a powerful anti-oxidant (read: Cancer fighter!!) and packed with all sorts of good things such as Vitamin K (helps maintain bone density), beta carotene (helpful with preventing the hardening/thickening of the artery walls, reduces blood cholesterol) Vitamin C (protection against immune system deficiencies, cardiovascular disease, prenatal health problems, eye disease, and even skin wrinkling – yowza, that’s a lot of stuff), it’s reasonably rich in calcium and much more.

In short, it’s a amazingly nutritious veggie. (In fact, it’s a form of cabbage. Wild cabbage, actually. Who knew?)

And affordable. Only about $1.50/2. for an organic bunch at most farmers markets and grocery stores. 

We keep kale on had in our fridge for delicious Green Juice as a stand-alone beverage or use as base for Super Smoothies.  Another option is to bake it. Yup, doesn’t everything taste better when made into a CHIP?! It’s easy peasy and only takes about 15 minutes. You can spice them up (or down) any way you like. The kids will love them (crunch!) and you’ll be glad that they’re munching a green, leafy power-veggie instead of greasy, toxic-colored cheese curl. (Blech.) 

Much better value too: Yucky, processed snacks/chips = $2.-3. bag and include all sort of chemicals you can't pronounce VS. Organic kale chips = About $2./batch and full of healthy cancer-fighting goodness.  No contest.

INGREDIENTS:

- 1 bunch organic kale

- 1 TBSP. olive oil (DO NOT over-oil or you'll get soggy chips!)

- 1/8^th or 1/4^th tsp of kosher salt or fave herb/spice mix, depending on who much flavor you want (sometimes I simply use Kosher salt but other times we’re in the mood for more spice, like a mix of chili powder and garlic salt or a lovely Tandoori spice blend...)

- a sprinkle of fresh lime juice

And away we go:

Preheat the oven to 400°F.


Wash kale and dry in a salad spinner or between towels. (Be sure to dry completely.)


Tear the leaves into large, chip-sized pieces and put in large bowl.


Drizzle with oil, the sprinkle with fave spices. Toss kale with your hands to coat well and evenly. Sprinkle with a little lime juice to make flavors pop.


Arrange in a single layer on a rimmed, foil or parchment-lined baking sheet.


Roast for about 10 minutes, until crispy and starting to turn brown on the edges, but not too dark.


Serve immediately or cool completely and store in an airtight container until ready to serve.

(Ready to bake...)