Saturday, September 11, 2010

Kale Chips

One of the yummiest ways to consume the nutritional powerhouse Kale is by turning it into a crispy delicious chip.  I made two variations of kale chips last night (the one with a touch of agave is the best!).  Here are the recipes below as well as some facts about our friend, Kale.

For both variations begin with 2 large bunches of kale, destemmed, and cut into large pieces (if the pieces are to small they will fall apart during dehydration).  Put the kale in a large bowl and douse with olive oil (or hemp oil, flax oil, etc.) and lemon juice. Massage kale until it begins to "give" a little.

Variation #1 - I massaged in some delicious black truffle salt (definitly a splurge!) and just a touch of agave.
Variation#1 - I massaged in garlic powder, sea salt, and a little cayenne.

You can taste the kale before dehydrating to make sure the flavors are good.  Dehydrate at 115 for about 8 hours or until crispy.

Kale Facts:
Kale can provide you with some special cholesterol-lowering benefits if you will cook it by steaming. The fiber-related components in kale do a better job of binding together with bile acids in your digestive tract when they've been steamed. When this binding process takes place, it's easier for bile acids to be excreted, and the result is a lowering of your cholesterol levels. Raw kale still has cholesterol-lowering ability - just not as much.


Kale's risk-lowering benefits for cancer have recently been extended to at least five different types of cancer. These types include cancer of the bladder, breast, colon, ovary, and prostate. Isothiocyanates (ITCs) made from glucosinolates in kale play a primary role in achieving these risk-lowering benefits.

Kale is now recognized as providing comprehensive support for the body's detoxification system. New research has shown that the ITCs made from kale's glucosinolates can help regulate detox at a genetic level.

Researchers can now identify over 45 different flavonoids in kale. With kaempferol and quercetin heading the list, kale's flavonoids combine both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits in way that gives kale a leading dietary role with respect to avoidance of chronic inflammation and oxidative stress.