Often times paleo peeps get a bad wrap when it comes to meat consumption. As if all we eat is bacon for breakfast, lunch and dinner. When really we only eat bacon for breakfast and lunch, and we have steak for dinner. (I could really use a sarcasm font here.)
The truth is though while you do consume meat on the paleo diet you also eat boatloads of vegetables! In fact I don’t really think I eat any more meat than I used to eat in my pre-paleo life, but I know for sure that I eat way more vegetables as well as a much larger variety of vegetables. One in particular that I became a huge fan of over the past year that wasn’t previously too high on my consumption list is kale!
I’ve made it a number of ways, but one of my favorite ways to enjoy it is in chip form. A bowl of these kale chips while watching Revenge on a Sunday evening is the perfect end to a weekend as far as I’m concerned.
I’ve learned a few things through trial and error about how to make a perfectly crunchy kale chip.
The secret to crunchy perfection:
1. The oven temperature is so so so key! 350 is the magic number! And you want to bake not broil. I don’t know why 350 is so magical. I’m sure that every oven is a little different; but anything higher than 350 in my oven makes them cook too fast and then they end up burnt around the edges.
2. Line your baking sheet with foil. I don’t know why but anytime I’ve skipped this step and just laid my kale directly on the baking sheet I’ve not gotten the same light crunch. It matters – so line the sheet – it makes the clean up nice and easy too!
3. No matter what recipe you use to flavor your kale chips be sure to squeeze a little lemon juice on them before baking. Something about the addition of a little lemon juice adds to the crispiness and also brings out the flavor in your seasoning.
Now on to my personal favorite kale chip recipe.
INGREDIENTS:
Kale – washed, dried and broken by hand into chip-like pieces (don’t break them up too small)
Half of a Lemon
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/2 Tsp Paprika
1/2 Tsp Garlic Powder
Salt
Pepper
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with foil. Once the kale is washed, dried and broken up lay your pieces on your baking sheet. Don’t over crowd. Squeeze the lemon over the sheet. Lightly drizzle the olive oil over top. Shake paprika and garlic powder over the top and toss a little to make sure all the pieces are coated. Then salt and pepper, and pop them in the oven.
Bake for 10- 15 minutes – and enjoy!
You can make lots of variations with this recipe so get creative. I like to sub the paprika with curry powder for a little different twist, and when I’m in the mood for something a little spicier I use chipotle chili powder.
Are you a kale fan? You can find more paleo friendly recipes under the paleo tab up above.
OK….something that takes one pan…my kind of cooking! Must try.