One of my all-time favourite Raw recipes is salt and vinegar kale chips. For one, it is so easy to do. Second, it is so very yummy. And as a bonus, it is a super nutritious snack when you are craving that crunchy-salty goodness that only a chip can satisfy.
In fact, I love them so much that each summer I actually grow my very own kale in my garden, just so I can stock up a bit! I also love giving this raw food snack as a low-cost DIY gift to friends and family in goodie baskets or as a stocking stuffer. It’s a real crowd pleaser because – who doesn’t love chips – and I never have to worry about it conflicting with anyone’s diets; whether they are lactose intolerant, gluten free, vegan, paleo, keto, you name it.. these are safe for everyone!
If you are new to raw foods, this is an excellent ‘gateway’ recipe to get you started. It requires minimal ingredients and effort and its an extremely healthy option to a junk food snack when you get those fierce cravings. Once you actually try these, I promise you will be hooked!
Ingredients
- 1 large bunch of curly green kale
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon of raw vinegar (apple cider vinegar or kombucha vinegar depending on your taste)
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
Directions
Step 1. Mix oil, vinegar, salt in glass measuring cup with a spout.
Step 2. Wash and air dry the kale.
Step 3. Destem the kale and fill a large bowl. This can be done with a small knife, but I prefer to rip the leaves off by hand. You don’t need to be gentle, the leaves should be very crisp now that they have had a wash. Rip off the individual bottom leaves, fold the leaves together and continue to rip your way up the stock. The stock can be easily ripped from the top part of the leaves.
Step 4. Pour half of the mixture over the kale and massage briskly for 5 minutes. Again don’t need to be gentle. Like when making sauerkraut you want to work the salt into the leaves so they start to break down. Very important to make sure every surface is covered. The kale won’t crisp up nicely without the oil. Add more of the oil mixture as needed.
Step 5. Lay the leaves out on the dehydrator trays. Checking that every leaf front and back is coated. For most foods, you want a single layer but kale leaves are so light some overlap is ok.
Step 6. Dehydrate for about 6 hours at 95 degrees. No dehydrator, no problem bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes at 350 degrees F. Remove when edges are brown.
Yummy variations on this basic recipe would be:
- Coconut oil (warmed) with Curry
- Chili Garlic
- Lemon Pepper
- Nutritional yeast and Soaked, Blended Cashews for vegan “cheese” flavour
- Dinosaur or lacinato kale (see picture) *added some Shutterstock examples in comments*
- Himalayan Salt with Pink Peppercorns
- Coconut Aminos or Tamari
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