10 Things to do with Baked Kale Chips

 Since I’m on the South Beach Diet, right now (in phase 1), I can only eat meat and veggies, pretty much. Getting different textures in makes things more satisfying. I can make hummus and guacamole, but I needed something to do the dipping, and celery and zucchini sticks weren’t cutting it. So I remembered kale chips. They are the perfect snacks to make whether you’re trying to eat healthy or not. I promise.

We subscribe to a CSA in the spring and summer, and we get a lot of greens. I make kale chips pretty often and can put down an entire head in one sitting. They are so much better than you can imagine. If you’re wrinkling your nose at the combination of the word “kale” and “chip,” I urge you to try them.

Here’s my tried-and-true Baked Kale Chip recipe:

• Cut the stems out of the kale leaves, and cut large leaves into smaller, chip-like pieces.
• Put them in a bowl.
• In a small bowl, mix 1/4 cup oil (I have always used olive, but am going to experiment), 1 tsp soy sauce, a few dashes of tabasco sauce, a drop of sesame oil, and a sprinkling of garlic salt. 
• Drizzle the liquid over the kale leaves, rubbing it into each leaf. 
• The leaves will become glossy and coated. 
• Spread the leaves on a metal cookie sheet in one layer. You may have to make more than one batch. The one layer thing is important.
• Bake in a 400 degree oven. 
• Check them every 5 minutes, and flip them if necessary. They should be done within 10-20 minutes.
• I take off pieces of kale that finish sooner than others.

What can you do with kale chips?

1. Crumble crispy kale chips over rice
2. Use instead of lettuce in a burger
3. Dip them in homemade tzaziki
4. Put crunchy kale chips in a sandwich (remember the potato chip sandwiches you made in the '80s?)
5. Sprinkle them over popcorn
6. Dip the kale chips in hummus
7. Dip the kale chips in guacamole
8. Turn them into nacho kale chips, like in this recipe. (Yum. I need to try this.)
9. Satisfy your sweet/salty cravings with this recipe
10. Snack on them as is as they come out of the oven (the quickest way to make them disappear.

One tip for baking kale chips:

There are so many ways to make kale chips. Some recipes have you bake them at a lower temperature for much longer. I prefer them browned and almost burned, but they can start to get bitter if they truly are burned. It's a fine line. That's why I check them quite often and pull out each one when it reaches perfection.

Stay tuned for the second post in my Sleep Training series... coming this Friday!