Kale Glorious Kale .....................
You probably wouldn't have heard me singing the praises of kale a few weeks ago. It has a very strong taste and was not one of my favorites. I tried in green smoothies and found that I needed strong tasting fruits to overcome the taste.
Then I began to join some raw food blogs. One of the women posted that she was enjoying Cheezy Kale chips from Blue Mountain Organics. So I hot footed it over to the website and ordered some Cheezy Kale and Nutty Cheezy Kale. I also added some Chai seeds and Hemp Seeds to my order. When the box arrived I tore open the bag and began to munch on one piece after another. They were good! My dog even loves them. He begs for them more than for his doggie treats. Now I had a problem. Each bag of Kale Chips was $7.50 per 3 oz. How on earth could I fit this new food into my budget. I scoured the web and found a recipe for Cheezy Kale Chips that were made in a food dehydrator. Hmmm... didn't have one of those and wasn't ready to spend $60 or more on one. So back to the web I went and looked through the offerings on Craigs List. I found a new in the box Nesco Snackmaster & Jerky maker. The seller was asking $25! They retailed for $55 in the stores. A day later I had it in my hands.
Yesterday I finally had all the ingredients I needed as well as time to play in the kitchen. This is the recipe I used and below are the results in pictures. If you decide to try this let me know.
Cheezy Kale Chips
1-2 bunches of curly leaf kale - washed and drip dried
Paste
1 Cup Raw Cashews - soaked for at least 2 hrs in water and washed until water is clear.
1 Red or Yellow Pepper chopped
1 tsp Celtic Sea Salt
Juice from 1 lemon
1 Tbs Nutritional Yeast
1 tsp Turmeric (optional)
Place all the paste ingredients in a high speed blender like a Vitamix or BlendTec (I have this one) and blend until smooth and creamy.
Take the washed greens and pull the leaves off the stems and break into smaller "chip sized" pieces. Place these in a bowl and begin to mix the paste through the leaves. Use your hands to work it into the mixture. When they are coated relatively evenly place the chips on the dehydrator tray.
This is the finished product but you get the idea (click on image to view larger). Turn the dehydrator to 105 degrees and let it run for 12 hours. Your chips should be read. I assembled it around dinner time and it was ready this morning at 6 am when I got up.
Here are the beautiful kale chips ready for me to snack on. They can be added to salads or any other place you would want a salty, savory topping.
To see the nutritional benefits of kale you can go to this website. Not only do you get kale but you also are getting nutritional yeast which is high in B12, Peppers as well as cashews. These are little power houses of nutrition.
