Hale to the Kale

What can I say about Kale. Kale is one of those foods I never thought I would like. I literally went from not even knowing what it was to now being borderline obsessed with it. I have a close friend who has always hated Kale with a passion, her mom used to force her to eat it. I guess I just assumed it was awful and forgot about it. Now after learning some recipes, it is one of my favorite things to eat.

Then one day I was perusing though the natural food store and saw “Kale Chips.” That sounds interesting I thought. Must be one of those things you eat because its good for you, not because you really want to eat it. Long story short, I loved them. Also when I attended Living Light Culinary institute, a few students in the class were really into making their own Kale chips. I asked around and through simple research and combining a few different recipes, I believe I have created the most perfect Kale chip that ever existed.

Steph’s Famous Kale Chips

(Double batch recipe)

2 bunches of Green Curly Kale

2 cups of Cashews soaked for 2-4 hours

1 Green Bell Pepper

1 Yellow Bell Pepper (any two combinations of bell pepper can work)

2 lemons juiced

2 tablespoons of Redstar Nutritional Yeast

1 teaspoon Pink Himalayan crystal salt

¼ teaspoon Maca Powder

¼ teaspoon Mesquite Powder

¼ teaspoon Cayenne Powder

Wash, dry, and de-stem Kale. Place kale in a large mixing bowl. Combine the rest of the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth to get a thick consistency. Pour over kale and mix thoroughly with your hands to coat the kale. You want this mixture to be really glued onto the kale.
In your Excalibur dehydrator, place kale onto a Teflex sheet, on top of a mesh dehydrator screen, and dehydrate for 24 hours @ 115 degrees.

So here is my little hale to the Kale: Kale is delicious; it has just got to be prepared right. Without preparing it right, like most dark leafy green, it will taste bitter, tough, and chewy. Some nutritionists argue that Kale is the most nutritious vegetable you can eat. It is loaded with Antioxidants, Protein, Fiber, Calcium, Magnesium, Vitamins A,B,C, and K, and the list goes on and on.

Now I try to make Kale chips at least once a week, and they are so good that they usually don’t last more than a day in our house. Enjoy!