Healthy Snacks: Kale Chips

Preheat oven to 275. All you'll need for this is fresh kale, olive oil, and sea salt. Later I thought it would have been awesome to use garlic salt and/or parmesan cheese. I wish I thought of it earlier! Oh well.

 Kale Chips. Yup, I know what you're thinking. "Ew."

Well, I kind of thought the same thing. But I have a bunch of kale I needed to use, so I thought I'd give it a shot.

I mean, if there's a possibility I can get my greens in by eating something in the form of a chip, it's definitely worth a try!

Look at this leafy guy. So full of vitamins A, C, and K. Yet, we neglect him. Because he's kind of yucky.

Start by removing the stalks from your kale. Forgive my poor chipped coral nails during this post, please.

That's the stalks. If you didn't know. 

Tear your pieces down and wash them thoroughly. Pat dry and/or use a salad spinner. 

Ready to go!

Lay your kale pieces out flat on a baking sheet.

Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and sprinkle salt. BEWARE: Less is more with salt on these guys. The first batch I did was wayyy too salty. So just a little will go a long way. 

Bake for 10 minutes.....

Then flip chips! (I rhymed) 

And bake another 10 minutes. After removing from oven, lay on paper towels to allow excess oil to drain. 

Here they are!

So the results? They're pretty good. I don't think I'll be replacing them with Lays anytime soon, but it definitely is a good way to get in your veggies. Kale is a little bitter, and some of that shows up in the flavor, but I kind of don't mind it. Bitter is a flavor most of the time I'll avoid, but the combo of bitter with the saltiness is pretty enjoyable. I was also surprised how these crunch/flake in your mouth, and then kind of melt. It's hard to describe, but I think the texture made me enjoy them even more. 

As for Shawn? He said they taste like farts. That's gross, huh? Don't listen to him. They are unique, and if you aren't brave enough to try them with olive oil and salt alone, I definitely doctor them up with garlic and cheese.

I got this recipe from the food network, found here. So, do you think you'd be brave enough to try kale chips, or do you think you'd opt for another form of snack?