A Thing or Two: Kale Chips

You know that you're deprived when you resort to bitter greens as a snack. Yes, I am still going strong on the diet and actually enjoying the fact that I have to get REALLY creative in order to enjoy my food. Besides the lean protein, I'm going off of a small list of low glycemic and low carb veggies that have their limit too. The only food I'm allowed to eat freely is lettuce and other leafy greens. I'd heard the words "kale chips" once before and decided to see they were all about.

Lacinato Kale

It was Brianna's birthday on Saturday and I knew that would mean I’d be surrounded my tasty little appetizers and desserts. I knew that if I wanted to go to this party I was going to have to come up with something I could snack on. So I went to the store and purchased about three bunches of "curly kale". I brought it home, rinsed it well with veggie wash, cut, tossed and baked. Oh how I wish I had experimented before bringing it to a party. WAY to salty and soggy. Not the taste I was going for. My mistake? Not drying the kale enough before baking. Not to mention that when I laid it out on the baking sheet it was overflowing, then shrunk down to about half after baking.

I knew there was hope for kale chips and I was determined to make it work. So this time I went to another market where they had “Lacinato Kale”, a smoother version. I cleaned and cut it into pieces and put them in a large baggie with paper towels to soak up extra water. After it was all said and done, it turned out great! They are so addicting. I made it again a few days ago when I had friends over with the intention of sharing of course. It didn't exactly turn out that way. The few chips that my guests were able to try made a great impression. Everyone felt guilty eating the only thing I was aloud to snack on, or maybe it was the fact that I placed the bowl in front of me and never took my eyes off of it. It was funny how everyone was teasing me for my boring snack and then quickly changed their tune. Ha! Even the guys wanted more. So there you have it, you don't need greasy potato chips after all.