Kale Chips

One of my favorite snacks are kale chips. It might sound like a boring, 'healthy' snack or just plain unappetizing, but don't knock 'em till you try it. They are delicious. 


However, they come at a pretty penny. One small bag of them can go for like 8 bucks at Whole Foods. And there's really nothing to them. Kale, nutritional yeast, salt, maybe some red pepper flakes- that's about it. So I knew I had to make them myself. 


What I really love about trying my hand at restaurant favorites is that you usually realize in the process how unhealthy the restaurant version is. This is what happened when I attempted to make kale chips at home. Though they turned out delicious, I realized just how much olive oil they must use in the packaged ones because I only used a misting of spray oil, and they were ten times lighter than those bought in store. 


I hesitate to even give a recipe because these were so ridiculously easy. They will definitely become a staple in my house because they are something nutritious and very low calorie to snack on. And they satisfy the same craving that chips do (at least for me), because they are crunchy and salty. 

Kale Chips
1 head kale (I used Dinosaur Kale, most should work)
3 tsp nutritional yeast
1 tsp red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste
Spray oil


Heat the oven to 300 degrees. The most time consuming part of this recipe is the separating of the kale. You must separate the kale leaves from the stems. The stems are tough and should not be eaten. This will only take a few minutes and you can do it in front of the TV or whatever. After you have separated the kale, wash and then roughly rip with hands into bite size pieces. Lay on a baking sheet, spritz with oil, sprinkle with nutritional yeast, red pepper flakes and salt and pepper and bake for 20 minutes or until dry and crispy. 


If you don't know what nutritional yeast is, don't substitute brewer's yeast, they are not the same thing. Nutritional yeast is a yummy seasoning used by vegans to imitate the flavor of cheese. Since it also has B12 in it, it's a useful and delicious product to have on hand. Here, it gives the kale a cheesy flavor. 


The calorie count here is negligible, so go ahead and eat the whole thing if you want! Kale is so good for you that any recipe that gets you to eat more of it is golden, if you ask me. 


You can eat these as is or crumble and sprinkle over salad or pasta or whatever. They work anywhere.