Kale Chips

Do you think your kids won't eat vegetables? Try these. I am generally against recipes that require me to stand around doing repetitive work, especially when the fruits of my labor are then gobbled up in less than 10 minutes. But I have to make an exception for a recipe that gets my kids chanting, "Kale! Kale! Kale! We want kaaaaaale!" I think we all know that kale is a "super food" and these delicious chips have the added benefit of being crispier than potato chips!

Enjoy!

Ingredients

2 bunches kale (the flatter varieties are easier to work with, but any type will do)

1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil* (or other oil/fat, if desired)

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Method

Heat your oven to 250 degrees F. Wash kale and remove tough central rib (you can skip this step, if your kids will eat up to the rib, and you don't mind having chewed on stems around). Pat kale dry. Place in a bowl and coat with olive oil (I use my hands to rub the oil on all surfaces). Place kale in one layer on two baking sheets. Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper (you can leave out the pepper. I sometimes do). Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes or until leaves are very crispy (they will easily break apart). Allow to cool until they are easy to handle, then watch the feeding frenzy begin.

*NB, Dr. Campbell-McBride advises against heating olive oil. Personally I do not have a problem cooking with extra virgin olive oil at low temperatures (below its smoke point). I have not read any scientific studies that corroborate the claim that heating olive oil causes it to take on unhealthful properties. I would be happy to peruse any such studies that my readers might know about. (I'm not interested in links to claims, only to actual studies or reports of actual studies, where the journal of publication is cited). If you wish not to use olive oil, any fat would work, but the flavor would be different (though almost surely very tasty). Obviously hard fats would need to be melted first.