Kale Chips...They're the New Pringles!

Okay, so maybe I am stretching it a bit.  They certainly don't stack up the way those scrumptious little potato waves do, but I will say that when I made a batch of kale chips today for the first time, the initial few bites actually reminded me of Pringles.

I think I might dedicate Thursdays to cooking.  If you have been to my home and I have fed you, you would likely say that I am a very good cook.  This isn't bravado, it's echoed in the rave reviews and awards that have come in over the years and I have framed and mounted near the front door.  Okay, if you have been to my home you know that last sentence is a lie, but you also know that I know food.  I know how to make it taste good.  As my brother often says, scary good.

A major principle in my philosophy of weight loss is that you have to embrace new and different foods.  Let's face it, what you have been eating has only contributed to ever shrinking pants and dimples on your ass.  If you are fussy and unwilling to try new things, you are sabotaging your chances of significant weight loss.  Change it up.  Expand your palate.  Here are some foods I have recently found that I love, are super nutritious, and have become staples in our house.

Kale is very high in beta carotene, vitamin K, vitamin C, lutein, and reasonably rich in calcium.  It's cheap and easy to cook.  The kale chip recipe below took just a few minutes and I gobbled them up quicker than, well, quicker than something quick.  I got nothing here.

Kabocha Squash is also known as Buttercup Squash or Japanese Pumpkin. It is rich in beta carotene, iron, vitamin C, potassium, traces of calcium, folic acid, and minute amounts of B vitamins. Talk about a super food!  This winter squash is similar to butternut squash but much more flavorful, and to me, has an overtone reminiscent of cantaloupe.  It's a pain in the ass to dispatch one, removing the skin and seeds, but the rewards are worth the effort.  I can find it easily at my local Stop-n-Shop.  Look for one with an orange blush on one side, indicating it was allowed to ripen properly on the ground.

Nuts and Seeds are a rich source of protein, omega-3 fatty acids and dietary fiber.  You need to be careful with these because of the fat content, but adding some toasted sliced almonds, walnuts, pumpkins seeds (aka pepitas), or sunflower seeds make a crunchy and tasty addition to salads, soups and stews.  I just throw mine in the toaster oven on the same settings I would use to toast bread.  If they need longer, do it again.  Don't just leave them to toast in a pan or in the oven, because they burn too quick.

Brown rice is so much better for you than white rice.  It is filling, high in fiber and has a nice nuttiness to it.  Learn to have it in place of potatoes or white rice.

So put on your big person pants and try some new healthy stuff.  If you don't like it, at least you tried and I applaud you.  But when you find that you truly enjoy what you eat, success is so very much easier.  Next Thursday I will cover some kitchen tools that make using these and other ingredients easier to cook and that I couldn't do without.

Cya tomorrow,
M

KALE CHIPS:
I prefer black kale, also known as lacinato kale, dinosaur kale, or Tuscan kale.  Mostly because it will lay flat on the sheet pan and is more "chiplike".  But either black or curly kale will work fine for this recipe.

Ingredients: 1 bunch of kale, 1 TB olive oil, 1.5 Tsp garlic salt

Preheat oven to 275.  Slice the center rib from the kale and cut it into 1.5" pieces.  Wash and dry THOROUGHLY!  If they are damp they will just steam in the oven.  I have a salad spinner that is indispensable in the kitchen.  In a 1 gallon Ziplock bag place the oil and garlic salt.  Let them mix and coat the inside of the bag.  Put the kale in the bag and when almost sealed, fill the bag with air to make it baloonlike.  Roll the kale around inside until it has a sheen and is well coated.  Place on a sheet pan and bake for 30 minutes or until crisp, turning half way through.  Toward the end of my batch I turned off the oven and let them coast.

What I ate today:
Breakfast: Kashi Island Vanilla cereal w/Vanilla Almond Silk and a banana
Lunch:  1/2 a roasted veg. panini on multi grain bread and a hint of pesto.  Wasn't good.
Mid-afternoon snack: Starbucks' Decaf Skinny Caffe Mocha
Dinner: Kabocha Tofu curry over brown rice and steamed kale.  One of my favorites.  If you don't like tofu, try baking cubes at 400 degrees until the outside is crispy.  Bet it changes your mind.
After dinner blog writing snack: That plate of very crisp kale chips pictured above.  They rocked.