Kale Chips

Josh & I are currently on a 21 day cleanse that, among other things, involves eating only fresh fruit and vegetables for the first 10 days with lean protein added on day 11.  No pasta, no cheese, no cookies, basically no fun.

In all my 30 years I have never been on a diet, so I was unsure as to how well I could stick to the plan. Surprisingly, I've ended up being more of a stickler about staying on track than Josh, shutting down his plan to make homemade hummus when I saw that he had bought canned chickpeas with a preservative on the ingredient list and refusing store bought dressing on my salads. By day 8 my resolve began to crumble, though, and yesterday morning I cheated and had pancakes. They were delicious.

The cleanse program comes with a set of recipes to try, and while most of them I could do without, there is one I'll definitely be taking with me - kale chips. Before you roll your eyes and mutter under your breath that Vermont has turned me into a dirty hippie, hear me out. The recipe for kale chips is incredibly easy, and they are surprisingly delicious. On a snackability scale where 10 is a Pringle and 1 is a palm full of All-Bran, I give kale chips a solid 8. Now for the recipe:

Ingredients:
1 bunch kale
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt to taste

Directions:
Preheat the over to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Wash and dry kale leaves, and tear them into bite size pieces, removing the large stems. Lay the leaves flat on your baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil and salt to taste. Bake until the edges are brown but not burnt, about 10 minutes. Tip: a tad more olive oil will keep the chips from being too brittle & bring out the flavor.

Give them a whirl. You might be surprised.