OK – it’s undeniable.  I am officially the crazy vegan woman.  Never in my wildest imaginations would I have dreamed I’d be making chips out of leafy green things.  If you had told me that 6 months ago, I would have called you crazy.

But these are really good.  And after the doctor told Dear Hubby and I the other day that our health could benefit greatly by just adding a green leafy vegetable to our diet each day, I began searching for all kinds of green things and new recipes.

And kale entered my life.  Isn’t it pretty?  It’s kind of curly on the edges like parsley.  Only bigger.  I also discovered swiss chard.  Yum.  I’ll share a great pasta recipe with that one soon.  We liked the dish so much we’ve had it twice.  In less than a week.

But I was talking about kale.  And chips.  Think potato chips.  Only out of kale.  I know, I know.  Crazy vegan woman.  It sounded really weird to me too.  But I was willing to give it a try.  For our health you see.  And all the recipes I found online had rave reviews.  (Stop rolling your eyes, Suz!)

So I picked one recipe and went for it.

You first have to pull all the curly leaves off the big stems.  And throw the stems away.  At least I threw them away.  Until someone comes up with a kale stems fabulous recipe.  Then I’ll probably try that one too.  I’m all about conservation and using every last ounce of healthy green stuff.  It’s my new mission in life.

Hey wait!  Maybe I can develop a recipe for the stems!  And become world famous!  Or not.  Suz’ eyes are rolling again.

After I rinsed the leaves well (rinsed not soaked) I spun them around in my salad spinner.  It’s important to get them as dry as possible.

So they will soak up the simple ingredients and get crispy in the oven.  Did I mention you should preheat the oven to 350°?  No?  Sorry.  Go turn it on now.

And by the way – tear or cut the kale into pieces about the size of  potato chips.  After all, we want the family to think these are chips.  Then throw the kale into a very large bowl.  And dump 2 Tbsp of lemon juice and 2 Tbsp of olive oil on top.  And about 1/4 – 1/2 tsp of coarse salt.  Just use a little or they will be too salty.

Massage the oil and lemon juice into the kale leaves.  I honestly thought that little bit of stuff wouldn’t cover all of that big bunch of kale.  But no problem!  There was plenty to go around.

I love getting my hands into my food preparation.  So I worked this and worked it.  And took the picture with my nose.  Not.  I called Dear Hubby in on the action to get these 2 photos.  Didn’t he do a good job?  He actually took about 148 and I picked the best 2.  Which is about the normal ratio of chosen pics when I take them too.  This blogging is hard work.  But we’re here for you.  Even with kale.

Aren’t they pretty?  All green and glossy with olive oil.  But I digress.

I had enough to cover two large cookie sheets.  You want them in a single layer so they get nice and crunchy in the oven.

Bake them for 10-15 minutes until dark green (or even a little brown) and crispy.  I actually baked mine for 12 minutes and that seemed just perfect.

Dear Hubby was very surprised at how good they were.  And although they really don’t taste like potato chips, they have the same crunch and saltiness and are a very good, healthy substitute.  These have a hint of lemon flavor, but if you aren’t a lover of lemon, you can leave out the lemon juice and just use oil and salt.

A word of caution:  they aren’t as good the next day.  Even if stored in an airtight baggy.  They were pretty soggy and chewy.  However, I was able to revive them several days later by putting them back in a 350° for about 3 minutes.  But be careful!  They were nice and crunchy again, but almost tasted burnt.  Two minutes might have been long enough and better for the flavor.

Happy snacking,
That Crazy Vegan Woman