Totally Addictive Kale Crisps

Whew! I made it back to Canada in one piece and the first thing I did when I got here? I made kale crisps. There’s just something about the confines of a plane and watching my fellow passengers chow down on mystery meat that makes me want to run for the nearest bunch of leafy greens as fast as possible. Call me crazy.

Although they may appear a little freaky (you try making baked kale look appetizing), I guarantee that these crisps are every bit as addictive as potato chips! Light, lacey, and crispy, with a hint of whatever kind of seasoning you can throw at ‘em, you will be fighting over every last crumb and wondering how you ever hated kale in the first place. Seriously.

Delicious Addictive Kale?
We all know that kale must be good for us because:
- It looks scary
- It is always in the produce section of health food stores
- Your yoga instructor is constantly trying to get you to eat it

Fine. But I feel the need to make a case for this under-appreciated leaf, because it really is all it’s cracked up to be. First of all, it packs more nutritional punch per calorie than almost any other food on the planet. Seriously. It is crazy-loaded with vitamin K, an essential vitamin for preventing bone fractures, postmenopausal bone loss, calcification of your arteries, and has even been shown to protect against liver and prostate cancer. And because kale is a member of the brassica family (think broccoli, cabbage, collards, and Brussels sprouts) it contains the organosulfur compounds that appear able to lessen the occurrence of a wide variety of cancers, including breast and ovarian cancers.
Kale is also excellent source of vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin B6 and manganese. It is also a very good source of dietary fiber, calcium, copper, vitamin B6, and potassium. This combination of vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients makes kale a health superstar, for real.

And besides being SOOOOO healthy, kale actually does taste good when you know how to prepare it. For the novice, I would not suggest munching on kale leaves completely raw, but trying this crisps recipe could be a good first step. Once you’ve mastered that, you could move onto a recipe such as this pan-glazed tempeh, and perhaps then you’ll be ready to eat it in a raw salad. As with any new food, especially when cooking for kids, ease in slowly and try lots of different preparation methods before giving up. Kale is undoubtedly a nutritional miracle and we’d all benefit from it becoming a recurring ingredient in our cooking repertoire.

Totally Addictive Kale Crisps
Ingredients:
•1 bunch of kale
•1/2 lemon
•1 Tbsp. maple syrup
•1 tsp. salt
•1 tsp. tamari
•2 Tbsp. olive oil
•1/4 cup sesame seeds

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 200 F.
2. Wash kale thoroughly and spin dry, trying to remove as much water as possible.
3. Tear kale away from stem. Each kale leaf should be torn into about 6 or eight pieces
4. Place all ingredients except for the kale into a bowl, whisk together.
5. Add the kale and mix together with your hands, gently massaging the leaves with the dressing.
6. Lay kale out on a cookie sheet or pizza pan and place in oven. Set timer for 30 minutes.
7. At 30 minutes, remove from oven and gently unstick kale from pan if it has stuck and replace for another 10-15 minutes until kale is dry and crispy.
8. Allow to cool. Can store in fridge for up to a week.

This recipe is very flexible and you can use any “dressing” you like to change things up if you fancy. My friend Meghan has the most fantastic food blog, and she has five different kale crisp recipes on her site, all of them totally fabulous. It is safe to say that she is a kale chip fanatic – me too!
I hope you give this recipe a try, especially if you have kids/friends/parents/lovers/bosses/bus drivers who hate green things, because they will become kale crisp-devouring monsters, and you a pleased, kale-love purveyor.