Kale.

Alright....now that I got the first awkward/dreaded post out of the way a few hours ago, I am ready to share my first real post. Are you ready for it??? Are ya?? Kale.

One simple name. One simple but so amazing plant. In fact, it's the Queen of all the Greens. It's a nutritional powerhouse, chuck FULL of antioxidant vitamins, fiber and vitamin K. Basically, for those of you who just skimmed that whole sentence because ya didn't feel like reading it, it's good for you. Very, very good for you. :-) Eating real foods is always the best option. It's not changed or ruined by processing or added ingredients.

Let's get real for a minute, when my fabulous/vegan/obsessed/crazy/juicing (did I mention obsessed?) sister, Erin, mentioned for me to try to eat kale, juice with kale or eat kale chips, I choked back the dry heaves as I mumbled a very disgusted, "heck no".  But, when I was trying to find a healthy, non-processed, crunchy "chip-like" snack for us, Kale seemed like the best option. And trust me, I looked at a lot of things. I can't give my baby sister the satisfaction of being right! Right?!

So, I drudged myself over to the kale, collard greens, mustard green area in Meijer and grabbed myself a big, curly bunch of organic Kale. This HUGE bunch cost a whopping $1.49. Score! Too good to be true, right? It's amazing that REAL food, clean food is so cheap. Love this.

I got home, washed and dried this abnormally large bunch of stuff that usually is filling empty spaces at the salad bar, and tore it away from the stems. Tossed it in some extra virgin lime olive oil and a dash of salt and spread it out on 2 large baking sheets lined with parchment paper. The first time I ever made Kale chips they smoked a bit, which I think was probably from residual water on the leaves, and...my house stunk for the rest of the night...BUT those little Kale chips were fabulous. Crunchy, salty, lime-y, and melt in your mouse delicious. That $1.49 bag of organic Kale that we baked made 3 large gallon bags full of chips. They didn't last long though. It's easy to go through all those in one day, which is GREAT for your diet because 1 cup of Kale is only 36 calories! Score again!

Recipe is below. Your first time making them be sure to watch them and watch the time because each oven is so different. Feel free to season with salt, pepper, seasoned salt, lime salt, chipotle seasoning etc. It is such a mild flavor it really can be used with a bunch of different seasonings. My kids loved them will salt and lime olive oil! If you're looking for a great place for specialty olive oils or balsamic vinegars check out fustinis.com!

Kale Chips
- 1 bunch of Kale
- 1 Tbsp Olive Oil (whatever flavor your little heart desires)
- 11/2 tsp salt

1. Wash the kale
2. Chop or tear the kale into pieces and dry in a salad spinner or dry VERY well with a kitchen towel or paper towel.
3. Combine raw Kale chip pieces with oil and toss to coat evenly
4. Spread out onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper
5. Sprinkle with choice of salt and/or seasoning
6. Bake at 350/375 (I would do 350 for gas ovens and 375 for electric but still watch it) for 8-10 min.

I've got mine down to a science. I have an electric oven and I bake mine at 375 for 5 min and then flip the trays and bake for another 5 min.

You can practically eat them straight out of the oven! They cool down so fast and are so. stinking. good. Enjoy!

Keep it real. As in real food. :-)