Community Voices for Health

By:  Kristen Clifford

Like I’ve mentioned before in the past, I’m trying to watch what I eat and lose weight.  My problem is I love to sit down in front of the TV, after the kids go to bed, and watch mindless shows while snacking.  I’ve recently found a snack that allows me to do just that without all the added guilt and calories.  The best part is I can get my kids to eat it as well.

Kale Chips.

They are super easy to make, and super cheap, the best of both worlds!

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Next rip apart the kale leaves from the main hard stem, you don’t want to cook the stems, they get hard and yucky.

I usually spray some cooking spray on the cookie sheets before putting the Kale on.  Then I spread all the leaves out on numerous cookie sheets.

One bunch of Kale will usually make 3-4 pans, depending on the size of your pans.

Then drizzle a tiny amount, maybe 1 teaspoon, or more if you aren’t worried about calories of olive oil.

Here’s the fun part, add what ever kind of seasonings you want to the Kale.  Use your imagination and experiment!

Some of my favorite season combinations are salt; or chili powder and salt; or my kids favorite is cocoa powder, PB2 Powdered Peanut Butter, and some sweetener, I use Stevia, all mixed together.

Use your hands mix it all together, then lay the leaves flat.

Put the pans in the oven for 25 minutes.  If after 25 minutes the Kale isn’t as crispy as you want it, turn the oven off, but leave the pans in.

Wait 10 minutes after you remove the pan for it to cool.

Then snack away!

Once they are cool, Kale chips store great in Ziploc bags.