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Crunchy Green Goodness -Spicy Kale Chips!

I need more greens in my diet. I like salad, but it get boring quick. I never seem to have the right ingredients to make some awesome salads from a few of the other blogs I follow, like Leann's Cranberry Mango Millet Salad at Healthful Pursuit, and Gena's Sprouted Lentil Salad at Choosing Raw.

I have a hate/hate relationship with kale. I can't stand it raw, and my grandmother's recipe involves cooking it like collard greens until it's almost mush. I had high hopes for kale chips, but the last time I tried making them, it was a disaster. I had almost decided that I was never going to try them again. When I realized that the kale in my fridge was going to go bad if I didn't use it, and I was in desperate need of something crunchy, I gave in and gave it another go.

These turned out great. The ingredient list is really small, and it's a very simple to make. I started with Gena's recipe for Spicy Curry Kale Chips, and modified it to my liking. These certainly do not disappoint.


Spicy Kale Chips - Vegan, gluten-free, and can be made raw

> 1 cup cashews, soaked for at least 1 hour
> 1 head kale, washed, dried, de-stemmed and cut/ripped into bite-size pieces - the drying is SUPER IMPORTANT. I didn't do this last time, and that's why they came out terrible. I suggest letting them dry on paper towels while waiting for your cashews to soak.
> 1 tsp chili/cayenne powder (I used hot chimayo powder from Savory Spice Shop)
> 1 tsp garlic powder
> 1 pinch sea salt to taste
> 1/4 cup water

Using food processor/magic bullet/blender, blend cashews, chili powder and garlic powder with half the water. If it is still chunky or really thick, add more water. I love Gena's description - you are looking for a nut pate, thin hummus, but not runny. I used a magic bullet, so I just did the water and cashews, then stirred the spices in with a spoon. Add more chili powder if it's not spicy enough for you.

Massage into kale. Get them good and smothered in the cashew sauce. Lay covered kale out on cookie sheet and bake at 325 for 20 minutes or until crunchy. (They took 22 minutes in my oven.) These can be kept raw by using a dehydrator at 115 overnight instead of an oven.

Thankfully I had enough kale to make two pans full, so I could take before and after pics :) And I apologize for my crappy pictures. Oh what I would give to have food pics as awesome as Leann's!

These will definitely be heading to the park with us this afternoon for our anniversary picnic! We've been married 2 years today :)

Before:
After:

Comments

  1. Thanks for the recipe. A friend of mine had bought something just like these the other day - my first thought was "I could make these!" Based on the ingredients on the packaging, I think they use this recipe as well, with one addition: miso paste. I added it to mine and we'll see how they turn out. They're in the oven as I type!

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