How To: Kale Chips

Since this is my last week of funemployment -- after having my start date pushed back again and again because the partner I'll be working with has been traveling, I'm finally starting on Friday -- I thought I'd share one of my favorite healthy snack recipes that I finally tried while unemployed. I know kale has been trendy for awhile, and kale chips have been a thing for almost as long, but it's just one of those things that required an abundance of spare time for me to actually try. Once I did, they became a favorite!

How To:

1 bunch of kale
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat the oven to 275 degrees.

2. Rinse and dry your kale. I prefer to buy the package of pre-washed and cut kale, so I get to skip this step. It's very important that you dry the kale as much as possible. If you put wet kale in the oven, you're going to end up steaming it instead of crisping it.

3. Pull off all the leaves and tear into bigger-than-bite-size pieces. You don't want to keep the heavy stems and those thick center ribs. You just want the leaves. And keep the pieces big, because they'll shrink a lot in the oven.

3. Spread the leaves out on a baking sheet and drizzle with the olive oil, about 1 to 2 tablespoons. A little goes a long way. Just go ahead and use your hands to toss and make sure all the leaves are well-coated. Rearrange on the baking sheet and sprinkle with salt. It's easy to over-do the salt here, so keep it light! I really only use a pinch.

4. Bake for 20-30 minutes, checking periodically and tossing with tongs. When the leaves start to brown at the edges and feel light and crispy, they're ready to come out.

5. Fill up a bowl and munch to your heart's content. Sorta feels like you're eating popcorn, but without the guilt! I promise, they're delicious.