Kale Chips. Yum!

I don't know what inspired me. Maybe it was the first rainy day in autumn and my cooking bug was stirring. Maybe it was looking for a nutritious snack while I continue on my 28 Days To Health cleanse. What ever caused it, the result was awesome. Here are the details.

Cutting out the stems and preparing bunches of kale.

Kale is one of the most nutrient dense foods on the planet. It has an Aggregate Nutrient Density Index score, or ANDI, of 1000 out of 1000. The best you can get. Kale is also full of powerful antioxidant properties, is considered anti-inflammatory, and is high in beta carotene, vitamin K, vitamin C, lutein, and calcium. If that wasn't enough good stuff, kale contains sulforaphane and indole-3-carbinol, booth natural elements in the food which boosts DNA repair in cells and appears in studies to block the growth of cancer cells.

Ideally we eat as many nutrient dense foods as possible for great health. But how do we make them taste great. I found one great recipe for baked Kale chips. They are nutritious, fun to eat, and cheap to make (but very costly to buy already made).

On the "cookie sheet" and ready for the oven.

The Kale Chip recipe:
Ingredients:
1 bunch of kale
A few tablespoons of olive oil
Seasoning: I used sea salt and a dash of cayenne pepper

Directions:
1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F. Line a non-insulated cookie sheet with parchment paper (although I have done it without the parchment paper on an insulated cookie sheet and it worked just fine).
2. With kitchen shears remove the leaves from the thick stem of the kale. Then tear the kale leaves into chip-size pieces. Wash them thoroughly and dry the kale with a salad spinner or a towel.
3. Put the kale in a large bowl with some olive oil and toss it getting the olive oil on the kale leaves.
4. Lay the kale leaves on the cookie sheet in a single layer and sprinkle a small amount of salt and cayenne pepper.
5. Bake until the edges brown but are not burnt. This should be 10 to 15 minutes.

Enjoy this guilt-free, nutrient-rich snack. They are so light and crispy. Wonderful!