Prepare Today Homemade: Cheesy Kale Crisps

It seems that when you try to eat healthy organic foods the price tag tends to go upwards.  For example, I bought a small 6oz. bag of kale chips at a health food store for $6.97 the other day.  That is beyond the limits of my budget and normally I would never spend that kind of money on such a small bag of snacks, but I wanted to make sure that we really liked them before committing to baking a whole batch of them.  I am always trying to find ways of making a store bought item at home, to save my family money, and to also emlimate processed ingredients from our diet. Kale is a super food and I really want my family to eat it, so I am always trying to find a new way of cooking it. It turned out that we really did like them and my sister and I decided to try out our kitchen skills and make a batch of cheesy kale crisps. 

The original recipe is from Real Foods market and they shared it on Good Things Utah (a local tv show) and I have wanted to try it for awhile now.  You can find it HERE.  

The ingredients called for in this recipe are items you probably have on hand, except for Nutritional Yeast.  I have heard of nutritional yeast, but I have never used it before.  It is used mostly by vegans to add a cheesy flavor to food.  It is also full of vitamin B12 and is gluten-free.  I found a bottle of nutritional yeast at Real Foods market in Heber, UT.  It can also be found at health food stores and online at amazon.com.  To find out more info about nutritional yeast and recipes click HERE.

Once you have the nutritional yeast the rest of this recipe is almost too simple.  My sister and I couldn't believe how easy this was to put together and the results were amazing.  My sister is diabetic and she was excited to have a snack food that was crunchy and satisfying.   


Cheesy Kale Crisps
1 head of kale washed and torn into bite sized pieces
1/3 C cashews soaked for 1-2 hours to soften
2 T lemon juice
3 T water
1/4 C olive oil
1/2 t Real Salt
1/4 C nutritional yeast
2 green onions chopped
1/4 t chili powder
1/4 t tumeric
1 clove garlic
black pepper to taste

Blend all ingredients except kale in a blender until smooth.  Place kale in a large bowl and toss with blended mixture.  Place coated kale onto dehydrator trays and dry 4-6 hours or until crispy. (I dehydrated mine at 125° for about 4 hours)

1. Wash kale and break into bite sized pieces

   
 2.   Blend all ingredients but kale in blender. Toss with kale pieces.

3. Dehydrate for 4-6 hours until crispy.  Don't crowd the pieces on the trays, they need to have air circulation for even drying.

4. Enjoy!!  They have a cheesy popcorn taste and crunch to them.  A very healthy snack!!

 Kale is quite simple to grow in a garden and now you have a way to make it edible ;)