Cheezy Kale Chips

Kale chips are the new potato chips, right? Well, they're not exactly the same and I still can't my boyfriend to even try one, but they make for a great healthy snack. Kale by itself is pretty hard to eat unless you marinate or cook it. Kale cooked in the over on low heat makes this "chip" that is light and crispy. The recipe for plain kale chips is pretty easy...just pop in the oven on low heat until they brown. My grocery store now sells huge bags of raw kale that is already chopped and washed. This makes it super easy for me to make some kale chips when I want a snack.

I usually put salt and nutritional yeast on my kale but I want to try some more recipes. Here's a recipe for "cheezy" kale chips from Pride and Vegudice.

  

Ingredients

1 bunch curly kale

1 cup raw cashews (soaked for a couple hours)
1 red bell pepper, deseeded and chopped
Juice of half a lemon (~2 tablespoons)
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon sea salt (or to taste)

Directions

First, soak the raw cashews for a couple of hours or overnight. Then, pre-heat your oven to 250F. Wash the kale and then rip it up into bite-size pieces, discarding the stem. Take the rest of the ingredients (not the kale) and process in a food processor until smooth. I had to add about a tablespoon of water to get a more smooth consistency. You can also add some cayenne pepper or curry for some spice. Place the chopped kale in a large bowl and pour the mixture over the kale. Massage the mixture into the kale somewhat evenly. 

Place the marinated kale on a non-stick cookie sheet and place in the oven. Cook the kale for about an hour. Be sure to check on the kale to make sure it is not burning. The kale chips are done when look dry, but not a burnt brown.  I actually turned off the oven and let the kale chips dry out overnight in the oven (turned off).

Because the chips are dried out, you don't have to store them in the fridge and they can probably last a couple of weeks without getting stale. But good luck trying not to eat them immediately :)

What do you put on your kale chips?