Shamrock Chips (kale chips)

It’s a green sort of week, isn’t it? St. Patty’s Day this weekend and spring on the horizon, this week is doused in green. My contribution to green in the food blog world: Shamrock Chips!

Also known as kale chips. You don’t need the luck of the Irish to make cheezy vegan kale chips. They’re pretty simple, and even with only 3 ingredients, you can still modify the recipe and make them not cheezy, if you prefer.

What you’ll need:

1. 2 bunches fresh kale
2. 1.5 to 2 cups nutritional yeast
3. 1 cup water
4. Pink Himalayan salt or sea salt
5. Food dehydrator – or – oven on very, very low setting (dehydrator with temperature control recommended)
6. Patience – about 8-10 hours worth  

What to do:

1. Remove kale leaves from stem leaving them in large chip-size pieces; discard stems or save for smoothies/juicing

2. Wash in cold water and drain (it’s ok to leave them a little bit wet; they don’t have to be perfectly dry)

3. In a large bowl, add in nutritional yeast and 1 cup water, plus .5 teaspoon (or to taste) Pink Himalayan salt (or salt of choice); mix together until it’s a sauce consistency. If you want to make them plain, skip the step nutritional yeast steps.

What is nutritional yeast? Our friend Wikipedia says:

Nutritional yeast is a deactivated yeast, usually Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Nutritional yeast is produced by culturing the yeast with a mixture of sugarcane and beet molasses for a period of 7 days and then harvesting, washing, drying and packaging it. This is commercially available in the form of flakes or as a yellow powder similar in texture to cornmeal, and can be found in the bulk aisle of most natural food stores. It is popular with vegans and vegetarians and may be used as an ingredient in recipes or as a condiment.

It is a source of protein (8g protein per 16g serving, 80 calories) and vitamins, especially the B-complex vitamins, and is a complete protein. It is also naturally low in fat and sodium and is free of sugar, dairy, and gluten. Some brands of nutritional yeast, though not all, are fortified with vitamin B12. When fortified, the vitamin B12 is produced separately (commonly Cyanocobalamin) and then added to the yeast because yeasts are fungi, whereas B12 is synthesized only by bacteria.

Nutritional yeast has a strong flavor that is described as nutty, cheesy, or creamy, which makes it popular as an ingredient in cheese substitutes. It is often used by vegans in place of parmesan cheese. Another popular use is as a topping for popcorn. It can also be used in mashed and fried potatoes, as well as put into scrambled tofu or eggs. Some movie theaters offer it along with salt or cayenne pepper as a popcorn condiment.

Red bold text added by j3nn

I use it on an almost daily basis lately. It’s SO GOOD on… everything! The fact that it’s packed with protein and nutrients is an added bonus; I’d probably eat it even if it weren’t!

Oh, and, it makes your urine neon yellow from the high B12 vitamin content.

4. Toss kale leaves around in nutritional yeast sauce, making sure to coat them well.

5. Add them to your dehydrator trays lined with nonstick liners such as nonstick dehydrator sheets or nonstick foil or parchment paper. If using oven method, add to baking sheets lined with similar nonstick liners. Lightly sprinkle to taste more salt over the kale once it’s on a tray.

I only have 2 Paraflexx sheets, so I used nonstick foil on one of the dehydrator trays. Works just as well.

6. Place trays inside dehydrator set on 95 degrees F; dehydrate for 8-10 hours or until chips are crispy. If using oven (which I haven’t done successfully) set on 170 degrees F with oven door open; bake until chips are crispy. I don’t particularly like this method because oven temps vary greatly and the last time I tried, they pretty much turned to dust.

7. Store chips in an air-tight container in a cool location to avoid moisture in air rehydrating them.

Makes 4-6 servings

Or one greedy one

Yum! I have single-handedly worked my way through 2/3 of this batch already. Dustin won’t even walk by them much less eat them, so it’s my personal stash of cheezy kale chips. Between the kale, nutritional yeast, and pink Himalayan salt loaded with 84 trace minerals, I think this might be one of the healthiest snacks on earth!

If all of these products are new to you, here are my recommendations:

  

The weather has been absolutely gorgeous! This is my favorite weather; low to mid 70s, low humidity, and low pollen. Perfect for sleeping, perfect for walking, perfect to be outside and loving life! It makes me want to move to SoCal and relish in its perfectness year-round. But I’d miss NY. I always do. I complain about it, but it is my favorite place to be despite its many, MANY, MAAAANY imperfections. heh

Are you doing anything especially green this week?

I’m just going to eat and drink more green stuff. I feel super puffy. I probably should not have eaten hot dogs yesterday, or any of the other salt bombs I’ve inhaled in the past month or 6.  

This week I’m doing: daily intermittent fasting (16-18 hours), going heavy on the fruit, veggies, and smoothie variations of, and seafood and walking outdoors; light on sodium  and being a couch potato. Some people call it a detox, but I call it a deflate. I set my standards and goals ultra low: Just 7 days of being extra good to my body to reduce the icky puffiness and get back on the road to bettering my health.

I’m glad the weather is so nice, it motivates me to feel good and get out there and enjoy life!

Tagged as: chips, dehydrator, dehydrator recipes, gluten-free, grain-free, grainless, green, health, kale, kale chips, nutritional yeast, Paleo, raw, raw food, recipes, Shamrock Chips, snacks, vegan, vegetables, vegetarian