Many of you have gardens and hopefully you have planted some kale this year. If not, it can be easily purchased at most grocery stores. Kale is part of the cabbage family and is extremely high in beta carotine, vitamin K, vitamin C, lutein, zeaxanthin and reasonably rich in calcium. Did you know that until the Middle Ages, kale was the most commonly grown vegetable in Europe? During World War II England encouraged people to grow kale as a way to make up for vitamin deficiencies caused by food rationing.
There are lots of ways to prepare kale, but if you have never tried kale chips, prepare to be amazed – they are fabulous!! Who needs potato chips when you can have something without starch, far more nutritious, full of vitamins and minerals and helps you get that daily dose of greens!! And believe it or not, my kids devour these!
1 bunch kale
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon Himalayan salt
You can make Raw Kale Chips or Cooked ones. The Raw ones will retain all the enzymes and phytonutrients. The cooked ones are for those who just can’t wait!
With a knife or kitchen shears carefully remove the leaves from the thick stems and tear into bite size pieces. Wash and thoroughly dry kale with a salad spinner. Drizzle kale with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.
For Raw chips – a dehydrator at about 105F for 5 hours. For cooked chips, place in a preheated oven (300F) and bake until the edges brown but are not burnt, 5-10 minutes. If you want to get creative, you can add all sorts of sauces – like Tamari, some chili powder, spices, pureed sun dried tomatoes, etc – be creative and have fun!!
Note: Mary C. sent me the following email after my blog posting: “I use a dehydrator, but only for about 1-1/2 hours with rather large pieces of Red Russian kale. I’d recommend 1 hour for bite-size.My recipe includes olive oil, a dash each of balsamic vinegar & tamari, and chili powder or Montreal steak spice for a bit more of a kick. For kids maybe pass on the spices. Kale chips are the greatest! We plant lots of kale at the community garden and make chips to sell at the local farmers market – they’re very popular.”
