Crunch!

While bikini season is almost over, I still have a few more weekends that require me in a bathing suit. Only problem is, my desire to look good in a bikini directly conflicts with my love of chips, popcorn, crackers, pretzels and crunchy snack foods in general. For some reason, when I crave junk foods, I don't crave a specific flavor, instead, I know I want something that will crunch. So when I heard about kale chips, I was intrigued. Do they really get that crunchy in the oven? And even if they do, will they even taste good? Kale is extremely nutritious and filling, so if this will work as a yummy, crunchy snack, I can munch on them guilt-free! So, on my way home from work before the weekend, I stopped by the store and picked up some fresh kale, and was ready to go. Making the chips was pretty quick and very easy. They did crisp up and prove to be very tasty! Doug said they "weren't his thing," but what does he know anyway? I enjoyed them. After making them, I read some other recipes/reviews online, and found that if you leave them in the oven for too long, they will become so crispy that they crumble and fall apart. While my chips didn't fully crumble, after biting into them, some of them made a bit of a mess with all the crumbs. So now, I'm thinking perhaps I should've removed them from the oven a minute or two earlier. However, they were still very enjoyable. I also read that some people like to add more flavoring, such as cheese or garlic, which sounds like it would be delicious. While I don't think you need the extra flavors, I do agree that it would probably taste very good.

All in all, I was happy with the result. One head of kale made a lot of chips, so come Sunday, I was still snacking away on them (fyi - I didn't keep them in the fridge, just in a bowl with seran wrap, a ziploc bag would work fine too). See below for recipe & photos. Crunch away!

Kale Chips

Ingredients

1 Head of kale

1 Tbsp. olive oil (I didn't measure this, I just used enough to be able to toss all the leaves in it)

Sea salt to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.

2. Cut the Kale off of the stems and tougher rib areas. Cut into manageable, chips size pieces. Wash with cold water and run through a salad spinner. Make sure leaves are dry.

3. In a large bowl, toss the kale in with the olive oil.

4. Spread the coated kale on to a baking sheet in a single layer. Sprinkle sea salt over the pieces (as much or as little as you like).

5. Bake for about 20 minutes or until crisp and the edges start to brown. Enjoy!

Right out of the oven...

And into the bowl!