I like to think am really pretty good at sharing. Except when it comes to these:
Who knew that dehydrated leaves greens could be so good!
I will admit it, I officially have a mild case of addiction… to kale chips and it is starting to become a bit of a problem.
I hoard them, eat all of them when no one is watching and and then quickly clean up any obvious crumbs… I honestly don’t know what it is about them (okay maybe I do), but I just can’t seem to get enough (or I can’t make enough)! I keep telling myself to save some for other family members… It doesn’t work. every. single. one. gets. eaten. every. time. I am a bit ashamed… I thought I had more self-control!
I like them in any size and flavor… in fact some of my favorites are sweet, fruity sauces! Like curry mango, or apple cinnamon!
I have a little store to tell… One day, as I was happily munching my way through a pile of freshly made zesty, tomato kale chips, I came across a soft squishy amongst my crunchies…
A squishy dehydrated catepillar
lovely…
So what did I do? Scream in disgust and toss the clearly tainted kale chips? Nope… I calmly munched on. (being careful of course for any other “squishies”).
Now I know what you might be thinking… of course I wash my kale before I make kale chips, but my point is…
I. really. like. kale. chips.
I am fully prepared for my skin to turn a slight green tinge… as long as I can still have my kale chips, I don’t care! My skin turned slightly orange when I went through a period of eating lots of papaya… you really are what you eat!
Oookay… On to other things…
I have been also really liking eggplant chips. Sliced thinly, with a smear of a yummy sauce and dehydrated… nice and chipy!
Zuchhini fries are another fave as well!
Instead of dehydrating my kale whatever I am dehydrating for 10 hours at 115. I put them in for about 3-4 hours at 155. It is just a hassle to have to think that far in advance and I don’t really care if they aren’t technically “raw.”
You can make kale chips in the oven (and trust me… I have), but they just don’t compare. They usually taste faintly charred. They are just so much better in a dehydrator! If you don’t have one, you can of course make them in an oven, but honestly… you don’t have to get an expensive dehydrator… a cheap one will do and there are all kinds of fun things you can make!
They are so easy to… Just poor a thick sauce on, whatever you like. sweet or savory… they both taste good!
“massage” the kale until the sauce in evenly distributed and spread out onto a dehydrator sheet and dehydrate!
Who else is addicted to kale chips?
Submitted to: Lifeologia, Diet, Dessert and Dogs and Allergy Free Lunchbox Love
20 Apr ’12 at 10:31 am
Haha! My grandpa always tells me that if you find a worm in your apple it means that’s it’s a really good apple (why else would a worm eat it). It’s probably the same with kale, so be honoured that the caterpillar liked them 😛 Slash with the apples, I’d take the worms out and continue eating the apple lol! nothing wrong with that 😛 I have never tried kale chips before… but they look amazing! Do you just put some sort of sauce on them after they dehydrate?
20 Apr ’12 at 10:54 am
Ah, sorry I didn’t mention that. No, you coat the kale in a sauce before dehydrating. Almost as if you were making a kale salad, but you dehydrate it!
20 Apr ’12 at 11:37 am
Mmm eggplant chips!! That sounds amazing…you could even smear on some cashew cheese for little pizza bites =D
I really need to start making kale chips! Do you ever make with other greens like collards? Because we have a bunch of them that need to be eaten 🙂 I’m guessing since they aren’t curly, the sauce wouldn’t cling to them as well…
20 Apr ’12 at 12:01 pm
Yes, the eggplant chips are so good! I put the sauce on the eggplant chips before I dehydrate them (just smear a little bit on one side). I have definitely done some cashew cheese ones! 😉 Yes, you can make them with collards. I have been making them with flat kale as well, you just need a nice and thick sauce, but it still works!
22 Apr ’12 at 6:26 pm
Eggplant chips! If fried eggplant is good this is better, They sound like a perfect savory snack.
24 Apr ’12 at 9:35 am
Yum!
25 Apr ’12 at 7:04 am
Wow – I’m big on Kale and I’m feeling embarrassed I did not make chips yet! It’s at the top of the list now!
Thanks for sharing these at the Potluck Party! ;D
25 Apr ’12 at 8:25 am
Ah, then you are guaranteed to love them! 😉
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24 May ’12 at 6:07 pm
What type of food dehydrator do you have? I’m interested in getting one, but want one that works really well for the money.
25 May ’12 at 1:41 am
I have an excalibur, but if you are not too concerned with it being technically “raw,” I think less expensive food dehydrators work fine. The less expensive ones usually don’t have a temperature dial, therefore may be dehydrated at a higher temperature and would not be “raw” (below 115 F).
25 May ’12 at 7:27 am
Great! Thank you!
8 Sep ’12 at 10:06 am
whats the sauce recipe?
8 Sep ’12 at 11:58 am
I think this sauce was a red pepper, cashew, nutritional yeast cheese sauce. Any thick sauce works though. I like sweet sauces on my kale chips a lot, like mango blended with curry powder.
13 Sep ’12 at 12:39 am
Beautiful pictures, I am using my dehydrator for the first time to make kale chips!
Thanks for all the ideas.
13 Sep ’12 at 6:28 am
Mmm… kale chips are my absolute favorite! Make sure to make a lot… they will not last long! 😉
8 Dec ’12 at 12:09 pm
I am soooo addicted to kale chips! I’m the same way – absolutely no self control when it comes to them. I probably would have done the same thing with the little caterpillar. I am that in love with green chips! I’m equally uncontrollable with collard green chips – so so good. They’re a little less messy than kale chips, too. Glad to hear I’m not the only one with an unquenchable love for kale chips! 🙂 I’m excited to try your mango curry idea. I usually just do a mix of soaked almond/almond butter, soaked cashews, some apple cider or coconut vinegar, coconut oil, fresh lemon and lime, with some sea salt, pepper and garlic and onion powder. It’ll be good to mix it up a bit, and maybe make them a little less fatty. I’m also going to try making some zucchini and eggplant snacks, too. Thanks for the post! Cheers!
8 Dec ’12 at 1:13 pm
Hey Lisa! Yay, a fellow kale chip addict! Like you, I seriously have no control… I eat them all immediately! That dressing sounds good! Have you ever tried banana cinnamon kale chips? So good! Just blend 2 bananas with some cinnamon (no water) and use as a sauce before dehydrating… 😀
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