Have you tried these yet? You may well have, because recipes for them pepper the Internet. And for good reason, because they are positively delicious. And the best for we who mother, and the worst, is that kids love them too. At least mine do. This is the best because they will down a head of nutritious kale in about four minutes. It’s the worst because if I don’t make a second head, I will barely get any. They really are that good. There are never, and I mean never, any left over.
Also, the kale chips are such a cinch to make, your kids can practically make them themselves. You (or they) will need just three things: kale (with curly leaves), olive oil, and salt (sea salt is nice). Then:
– wash the kale, removing the stems*
– massage some olive oil on the leaves (some people say a tablespoon for a bunch of kale; I use more)
– sprinkle a little salt
– spread on a baking tray in a single layer
– bake at 350F for 12 minutes or so.
The only trick is to check the kale carefully and turn it to make sure it doesn’t burn. Dark green chips are ideal. A little brown is okay but too much brown will taste burnt.
Then watch, as they will seem to disappear into thin air, but you’ll know their nourishing your favourite tiny bodies in all the world. Frito Lay, eat your heart out.
*About the stems, during one of our cooking sessions, my five year old cried out, let’s bake the stems! So we did. They didn’t have the crispiness of the leaves and were thus a little less satisfying, but they were eaten up too. Usually I keep them for a really nice addition to veggie stock.
4 Mothers 