Potato chips, Rice chips…Kale chips?

Nov 8, 2011 by M. Velez

You heard right: Kale, as in the healthy green leaf now eatable as a chip. I was introduced to this alternative healthy snack from a co-worker, who bought it at a nearby Sweet Green. Earlier this year, Sweet Green introduced its Krispy Kale (see Sweet Green blog).

Although kale chips have been around for awhile and popular among raw-food foodies and vegans, a bit of Google research reveals a growing trend with this tasty little snack, from fast food joints offering it on their menus to grocery stores stocking it on their shelves. As food guru, Phil Lempert from ABS News best put it, 2011 just might be “the year of Kale” (see ABC’s News coverage). But just how healthy is the Kale as a chip? Well, that depends on how you prepare it.

Kale is a type of hardy cabbage with curled, incised leaves (merriam-webster.com). It is rich in vitamins A, C and K and it has been known to have antioxidant properties, which is good for fighting cancer (see The Truth About Kale on Webmd.com). Kale comes in two colors: green and purple (Wikipedia.org).

There is no doubt Kale is healthy, but just like any superfood, the way you prepare it can change its “healthy” status. For example, you wouldn’t want to fry or bake Kale in hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils. You might as well snack on a spoon full of Trans fats and forget about your body-conscious efforts.

So, how do you make this delicious healthy snack? The video below shows you. Although, I recommend not drenching your kale leaves in olive oil, but lightly mist them instead so that only a thin layer of olive oil is on the leaves.