Kale chips

If there’s one vegetable that’s off the charts when it comes to nutrient density, it’s kale.

Kale sits near the top of the ORAC scale, which rates foods according to antioxidant content.

It’s packed with calcium and iron, too, and it’s also an abundant source of vitamins A, C, K, and the B vitamins.

Of course, to fully benefit from this wealth of nutrients you must eat your kale raw.

Not everyone finds kale palatable in juices, smoothies or salads, but I’ve yet to come across anyone who doesn’t love kale chips.

To make them you whip up a “sauce” to massage into the kale then pop them in a dehydrator – a raw kitchen prop which heats food at very low temperatures so as to preserve nutrients. No frying here!

You don’t have a dehydrator? Fear not! This recipe includes a workaround for that.

Prepare to be amazed at how crunchy the kale goes, thanks to the nut-based coating which takes on that texture when dried.

You’ll be amazed at how cheesy these kale chips taste, too. Thank you, nutritional yeast!

Do kale chips have any downsides?

Two: making them is a messy endeavour – and it’s near impossible not to eat the whole batch in one go!

Ingredients

• 200g curly leaf kale (if not ready chopped, you’ll need to slice it into bite-sized pieces, removing the stalks)
• 100g raw cashews
• 1 large red bell pepper
• Juice of one lemon
• 25g-50g nutritional yeast
• 1cm piece of red chilli
• Himalayan crystal salt or Celtic sea salt to taste

1. Chop the red pepper into small pieces and add to a blender with the lemon juice. Blend until smooth.

2. Add the cashews, red chilli and 1/2 teaspoon salt and again blend until smooth.

3. Add the nutritional yeast and blend again.

4. Put the chopped kale in a large bowl then pour the blended mixture over it and massage it in until all the leaves are coated.

5. Place it on dehydrator trays with Paraflexx sheets and dehydrate at 110 degrees. After two hours peel off the Paraflexx sheets and place the chips-in-progress on mesh sheets. Check them every few hours. By the time they’ve been in for eight hours they should be seriously crunchy.

Don’t have a dehydrator? Simples… Follow steps 1-4 above, then set your oven to 100C (200F). While the oven is heating up, line a couple of baking trays onto which you’ll then spread the kale pieces evenly. Place in the oven for 45-50 minutes, or until crunchy.