The “Chique” Queen of Greens

For most of my life, I have been making a concerted effort to live by the motto “eat well feel better”. Minus the years I lunched on McDonalds or Burger King everyday. I know, shame on me, but it was the 80’s folks, everything was excessive, including my appetite!

But honestly, recently, I have been really conscientious of my choices, not just for myself, but for the kids’ sake too. I make a healthy fiber and fruitful breakfast every morning. We eat dinner as a family and I only cook one meal. The kids eat what we eat. In fact, when PJ requested artichokes for his birthday dinner a few years back, I had to chuckle. I felt like we had accomplished something major in our parenting cycle.

Getting the boys involved in the kitchen, going to the farmer’s markets together, trying new things eventually pays off, I promise. We have eliminated any snacks that are filled with too much sugar, high fructose corn syrup or mystery ingredients. In fact, just have your kids read the labels and if they can’t pronounce it you shouldn’t buy it! Don’t get me wrong the kids still love a sweet treat after dinner, but moderation is key my friends. There are plenty of desserts that are acceptable under this criteria.

Dinners we have down pat, but lunches we tend to fall into a rut. I am less creative with the main course, unless it is leftovers, as they have their favorite PB&J or Ham&Tortilla on most days. They always pack a fruit, veggies, a crunchy snack, yogurt, a treat and water. I am trying to vary the veggies & fruits thanks to our “healthy lunch” policy at The Ancona School. PJ is so proud when he gets to add a new fruit or veggie to the classroom list.

I have made Kale chips before, but I have never posted about this delicious snack rich in antioxidants and nutrients. There is a reason why it is called “The Queen of Greens”. The health benefits are endless. Check out this article for deets, it really does make you want to eat, drink & live for Kale!

There are varying opinions and recipes on the internet on how to prepare Kale Chips, whether they are oil free, lower temp, longer bake time, salt before or after etc. So, here is my quick and simple version of the recipe. They truly are the perfect “Chique” crunchy savory snack for kids & grown ups too. After school, we devoured the bag I made today, which makes me wish I had tripled the batch.

There is a reason why everyone is talking about kale. Jump on the bandwagon if you haven’t already. Do you have any great recipes featuring Kale? Would love to hear from you!

Kale Chip Recipe

1 bunch curly kale

1 tablespoon olive oil

Sea Salt to taste

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Wash and cut the stems off the kale. Slice into bite size pieces. In fact, to save time you could buy the kale in a bag that is already cut! They do reduce a lot after baking so account for that when determining size. I also try to make them all similar so the little ones won’t burn.  Toss in olive oil or an oil of your choice. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt. Lay flat on a baking sheet. Pop into the oven for 20 minutes or until crunchy. Cool and serve. I like to store mine in a recycled paper bag, assuming there are any left over!

P.S.  I bought the Campbell’s soup just for the Andy Warhol can.  If you didn’t know it already the soup is filled with HFCS. It’s a no-no.