Nacho Kale Chips

Nacho Kale Chips

Yeah, I know...two Kale recipes in a row…I don’t know what to tell you, except my love for kale abounds; and there really isn’t too much to say about this next recipe except that these kale chips are fantastic FREAKING AWESOME. The only problem I had with them is trying not to polish off the entire batch in one sitting. Nom nom.

 We all know that kale is packed with nutrition as it contains omega 3’s, is a good source of fiber and has been shown to help fight inflammation, yadda, yadda, yadda…But let’s get on to the good stuff… The creamy sauce that the kale is marinated and dehydrated in is so flavorful with the chili powder, coriander, onion and fresh pepper and carrot, while being spicy enough to make up for the fact that these aren’t actually “nachos.” The cashews in the sauce provides the creamy consistency and nice kick of protein while the nutritional yeast adds the “cheesy” flavor and is packed with amino acids and B vitamins.

Kale getting ready for the dehydrator

 If you don’t have a dehydrator you can make these in the oven…I prefer to use my dehydrator because it allows the food to maintain its complete nutritional value when it is gently heated at or below 115 F. The moment you heat foods above (many say 120 F) you start to kill off the natural enzymes in the food necessary for digestion, while also depleting the nutritional content in the food. With that said, if you decide to make these in the dehydrator it will take 6-7 hours of dehydration time. So, if you’re jonesing for some of these little morsels of goodness, like, NOW, preheat your oven to 275 F, throw the bite-sized sauce-coated kale leaves on a baking tray, wait 15-20 minutes and “voila”! Kale chips.

 And if you REALLY want some kale chips and don’t want to do ANY of this, then try these. (I will warn you, they are a bit pricey, at $7.00 for a 2oz bag-or a big savings of 12 for $80-hello sarcasm- You can make yourself a whole lot’a kale chips for that…Just sayin'.)

 Now, on to the recipe…I made a few changes to the original recipe I found on Raw Food Recipes. I’m not a big fan of cumin so I substituted onion powder for the cumin and I upped the chili powder to ½ tsp instead of ¼ tsp. I also sprinkled a little sea salt over the top before I put them in the dehydrator. So far of the 3 people that tried them, all 3 gave them a raving 2 thumbs up (which would be 6 thumbs total for you mathematically challenged folk), so I must have done something right. You can play with the heat factor by adding more cayenne or less depending on your taste…Whatever blows your skirt up.

Eat Healthy, Stay Happy

  Nacho Kale Chips
 1 large bunch of curly kale
3/4 cups cashews, soaked 2-4 hours
1 TBSP and 1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 TBSP apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
3/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp coriander
 2 TBSP nutritional yeast
1/4 tsp stone ground mustard
1 TBSP scallions
1/4 cup carrot
1/4 cup red pepper
1/2 clove garlic

 Wash your kale, remove the leaves from the stock and tear them into bite-size pieces. In your blender combine the rest of the ingredients. Blend until smooth. In a large bowl, pour the dressing on to the kale. Massage the dressing into the leaves to coat-I do this with my hands as it is the best way to get the leaves evenly coated. Spread out on Teflex sheets and dehydrate at 110 for 6-7 hours.