Tips and Recipes

52 New Foods: Week 13, Kale Chips April 03 2012, 0 Comments

Snack attack! We all have them (kids and adults included). The trick is to make the snacks you grab healthy. Here’s how!

It’s that dreaded no man’s land between the end of school and the start of dinner. My kids barrel through the front door after a fun and active day – and they’re hungry! A freight train drives into the kitchen and throws open the refrigerator door. “What’s for snack, Mom?”     

Feature Recipe: Kale Chips, A Fast and Healthy Snack Idea

Fast, healthy snack ideas: Kale ChipsOn the food love spectrum for my kids, potato chips are like a “high-school crush” and kale is more like a “first and last date." When I discovered kale chips I paused and pondered, “Could this relationship change?” Crunchy, colorful and deliciously satisfying, it was a match made in heaven. Kale chips are the answer to our daily snack dilemma!

 

Crunch a Color’s Kale Chips

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: about 18 to 20 minutes
Makes about 4 servings

Ingredients:
1 bunch lacinto ("dino") kale
1 Tbsp olive oil
Salt

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 250°F.

2) Wash kale. Peel or cut leaves from center stalk. Chop into medium size pieces. Pat dry.

3) Toss in 1Tbsp of olive oil. Sprinkle with salt.

4) Arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet.

5) Bake about 18 to 20 minutes, or until crisp. Cool then serve.

Crunch a Color Kids Vote: Crunch!

What we liked: Kale chips are a colorful, healthy snack food that my kids love (their nutty flavor is akin to seaweed). They are easy enough for a 5 year old to prepare, which wins them more points in my book. This is the kind of snack food I can get into.       

What is your favorite healthy snack? Do tell!

Next up: Spaghetti with Meatballs

Having grown up in an Italian family, it’s impossible to imagine a week without spaghetti and meatballs! Next up, a deliciously healthy Italian dinner that will have you singing, “That’s amore!”

Craving more new recipes to try? Catch up on last week’s recipe: Asparagus with Ginger-Soy Glaze.

About the author: Jennifer Tyler Lee is a mom of two children and the creator of Crunch a Color™ -- the award-winning game that makes healthy eating fun. Like most parents, she struggled to get her kids to eat healthy, balanced meals, so she decided to make it into a healthy eating game and she’s giving back to support non-profit children’s nutrition programs including Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution and FoodCorps. Watch her picky eaters tell the story of how they turned into healthy eaters playing the game. Follow @crunchacolor on Facebook and Twitter to tune into Crunch a Color's healthy eating adventure and Jennifer’s tips and kid-friendly, easy recipes.