Kale has returned to the scene as a popular green that is not only full of delicious flavor, but also as an extraordinary source of vitamins A, C and K. These three vitamins are at the top of the list of immune-boosting benefits to our bodies, so this easy-to-prepare green leafy vegetable is a great option for your family's table.
Aside from its rich nutrient value, Kale is great at boosting your immunity, and health! Eating kale is proven to help cancer prevention, lower cholesterol, reduce the risk of heart disease, promoting compounds for eye health, and more. ALL good reasons to eat more kale!
There's only one disadvantage with eating Kale (besides that it disappears from the plate too quickly!) and that is it can interfere with your body's absorption of calcium. To help prevent this problem, avoid eating calcium-rich foods at the same time.
Besides eating kale fresh in salads or smoothies or wilted on pasta dishes, these kale chips are a popular way to get enough greens into your family and your own body!
Our friend & healthy lifestyle leader Lolita McNeal shared this easy recipe with our FRESH Start Online Community as a wonderful way to get the satisfaction of a salty crunch into our diet when we are craving chips or other salty no-no's!
LOLITA’S EASY OVEN KALE CHIPS
Here's How To Make Them:
Ingredients:
1-2 heads fresh kale (you can find it in the produce section of your grocery store)
1-2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil
1/2 tsp salt
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375-400 degrees. Cut the greens into 2-inch sized pieces. Rub the kale with extra virgin olive oil, evenly coating both sides.
Spread out the pieces evenly on 2 parchment lined baking sheets; season with salt and pepper.
Bake, rotating and switching pans halfway through cooking, until crisp, about 8 minutes.
Optional: Zest lemon over the hot chips.
Lolita shares:
"From my experience, you need very little extra virgin olive oil, the cooking time was closer to 6 minutes than 8, and it's okay if you leave out the lemon zest. Some other flavor suggestions included with the original recipe were: bbq rub, sriacha [a type of hot sauce], ranch dip mix, and sesame seeds.
My family's favorite were the ones I rubbed with a little bbq sauce. If you decide to try the bbq kale chips look for low sugar bbq sauce."
If this recipe was a hit with your family, let us know in the comments below!
Here at FRESH Start, our mission is to share simple steps to better health that the whole family can get on board with - and we want to know how we're doing! Drop a note below and let us know.