Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Healthy Homemade Kale Chips

Happy (Healthy) April Fool's Day!

Today is April 1st.  The recipe I am publishing might be just the perfect way to “fool” someone into eating an extra serving of vegetables!  

I wrote yesterday about my escapades while making a green smoothie after purchasing a huge bag of kale. The same day I bought my fresh kale, I was also nearly tempted to buy a new snack: a big bag of dried kale chips.  I refrained, as I wasn't even sure my family would eat them, and it seemed like it would be easy to make my own. 

A little while ago I “pinned” a Kale Chips recipe from Angela Liddon's blog Oh She Glows on my “Cook!” Pinterest board.  With most of a huge bag of fresh kale still in my fridge, it was the perfect time to make some kale chips, and see if we even like them!


kale, recipe, snack, baking

Angela's recipe was easy to follow, and the kale chips turned out well following her advice.   I made two batches  - one just with salt, and the other using her spice recipe.  We liked
them both!  


roasting kale, recipe

The kale does shrink up quite a bit when it bakes, so be sure to start off with a larger quantity of kale than the finished amount that you want to produce. It takes a minimal amount of olive oil to coat the leaves, so this snack really is very healthy.  


Like Angela, I used parchment paper to line my trays, so the chips  didn't stick at all. Be sure to follow all of Angela's other excellent tips for making these as well. 


kale chips, homemade

I do agree with Angela that the chips are best eaten soon after they are made.  It is important to cook them long enough to really dry them out. I rushed one batch, and they became a little soggy after a few hours.

I think it would be best to use bigger pieces of kale than the chopped up ones that I had; the finished pieces were pretty small and hard to pick up and nibble on.  



Snack, kale chips, made from scratch
This is the amount of kale chips that I was able to make from four cookie sheets of kale.
We really did like the flavor of this snack, and it is certainly healthier than most chips you buy.  We had an open bag of nacho chips at the same time though, and I did notice it disappeared far quicker than my kale chips! 

Oh well! 



Have you ever tried Kale Chips? Do you prefer homemade or store-bought?

This post may be linked to one of the great link-up parties I follow and list on my blog. Check them out!

12 comments :

  1. I think I will give it a try. I love kale and this might help me with my need to crunch! Thanks Susan!

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    1. I know just what you mean Pam! I think bigger pieces of kale, they would be especially good for snacking!

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  2. I will have to take your word on this one Susan - I like most fruits and vegetables, but not kale!

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    1. Finally Lana ... something we have different opinions about! :)

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  3. I would ike them, but my partner, who believes that vegetables are the garnish you put on the plate to make the meat look even better, would pass. Sigh.

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    1. Don't let that stop you EC! They are easy enough, you could make them as a snack for yourself!

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  4. Well...I know for a fact that my husband wouldn't touch these with a ten-foot pole! I would probably try them. Wish I had had this recipe when I had all the kale. I just don't like the texture of kale much. Spinach is my favorite of the "super" greens. I can even get him to eat it!

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    1. Probably better not make them for him Lynn - but as I said to Elephant Child, they would be easy enough to make for yourself - and if you don't like them, not much time or money would have been wasted!

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  5. I need to make those asap! My daughter raves about them! Thank you for sharing at Thursday Favorite Things, hope to see you next week again. Blessings

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    1. I hope you enjoy them Jas! Thank you - for hosting Thursday Favorite things!

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  6. I am going to have to try this!! Kale chips are really yummy!!

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    1. Let me know what you think Katie - these are the only ones I have tried, so it would be nice to know how they compare!

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