Kale Chips

I am one of those people that (on most occasions) would rather dig into a bowl of kale than eat, fresh baked cookies or ice cream or chocolate. For some reason I get fierce cravings for the stuff and can pack away an entire bunch in one sitting.

Why? Because I'm hardcore.

Yeah, I realize I'm pretty much in the minority here. 

Getting people to LIKE kale, let alone choose kale over a bag of kettle krinkle cut salt and pepper potato chips (which I'm currently obsessed with, by the way) is not easy.

Enter kale chips.

Ok, so they don't taste like potato chips, I'm not trying to kid anyone here. But, they are salty and crunchy and addictive. I've been known to inhale an entire batch in ten minutes, flat.

The best part. Zero guilt.

Olive oil, salt and lemon and a buttload of chlorophyll.

These couldn't be easier to make. I used my food dehydrator, but I'm sure you could make them in the oven.  Just follow the directions below and bake 'em.  I'm guessing maybe 300 degrees for 15-20 minutes.  Then again, I've never made them this way so keep your eye on them. Some blackened foods are delicious, but kale isn't one of them!

Remove the stem and cut into small pieces (about 2-3" in size).

Break out some lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil and sea salt.

Place kale in a large bowl. Drizzle some olive oil on the kale (enough to moisten) along with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Massage the kale with your hands until nice and soft (about a minute or so). Taste and add more lemon and salt if desired. 

Spread kale in a single layer onto mesh dehydrator trays (I used three trays for one large bunch of kale). Dehydrate for one hour at 145 degrees.  Turn the heat down to 115 degrees and continue to dehydrate until kale is nice and crispy (about 4-5 hours).