Healthy Snack Recipe - Baked Kale Chips
Did you like them?
Crunchy, Salty, and Addictive!
After my many years of struggling with my weight loss goals, I have finally learned one thing....deprivation is detrimental. My unhealthy eating and dieting comes directly from my mother. As a teenager we would regularly go on the "Tuna Fish Diet", "The Soup Diet", or even do an hour of aerobics followed by a large baked potato SMOTHERED in cheese and sour cream....something wasn't working. If this was the key to losing weight then we would both certainly be skinny. Don't get me wrong we would occasionally see some success and would lose 5-10 pounds only to pack them back on and repeat the process. I carried these yo-yo diets throughout my twenties until I finally figured out what the major problem was....I was depriving myself INSTEAD of building healthy eating habits.
I crave sweet and salty ALL THE TIME. I had always heard that kale chips were a great substitute for potato chips but I never believed the hype! They don't taste EXACTLY like potato chips, they have their own unique flavor but they are EXCELLENT. They feed your craving for crunchy and salty and are hard to stop eating! They take only about 20 minutes to make and a whole batch of them costs less than $2.00!
These kale chips aren't just for dieters! Bakes kale is featured on many popular food and cooking shows as an appetizer, garnish, and side dish. You can jazz them up however you want to make them your own.
Finished Product
Cook Time
Ingredients
- 1 bunch Kale
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- to taste optional seasonings, chili powder, salt, red pepper flakes, etc.
Easy to Make!
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray cookie sheet with non-stick spray (you can use parchment paper if you have it)
- Remove thick stems from kale. Wash kale thoroughly under cool running water (kale tends to have particles of dirt trapped in the crevices so wash well). Cut the clean kale into 1 inch pieces.
- Toss kale pieces in the olive oil and salt (and any additional seasonings you choose)
- Place kale on cookie sheet in a thin layer and bake for about 10 minutes. You will look for the edges to get a bit brown but not burned.
- Remove from sheet when cool and START SNACKING!
Experiment!
There are so many ways to experiment with this recipe. I suggest to first try them as the recipe states and then get crazy! I tend to like mine a bit over cooked with some chili powder.
I WISH I KNEW WHAT MY FIRST BATCH WAS LIKE! I tasted one "chip" from my first batch when my children hijacked the whole bowl. I will say that they are the type of kids who would choose an apple over potato chips and are constantly asking if what they are eating is "healthy". I would like to think that this is because I have taught them better than I was taught as a child....... but you never know, it could have more to do with the amount of children's media regarding healthy diets. I choose parental influence:) Either way, these kale chips were a hit with us ALL!
Enjoy and please let me know of any variations you try and LOVE!
