All Hail, Kale!

Do you know what kale is? Yes, it is a leafy green. But it is so much more! Kale is a nutritional powerhouse that has earned the title of King. In addition to conventional antioxidants like vitamin C, beta-carotene, and manganese, kale also provides us with at least 45 different recently discovered flavonoids, including kaempferol and quercetin. Many of the flavonoids in kale are also now known to function not only as antioxidants, but also as anti-inflammatory compounds. Plus, it packs in more fiber than a typical green and the combination of vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients makes kale a healthy eater’s dream. Seriously. This is one awesome veggie!

Ok, so you are sold on the nutritional benefits of King Kale…how do you prepare it? I love it sautéed with caramelized onions and a splash of balsamic vinegar with toasted walnuts on top. Divine.

King Kale rocks my juicing world too! I always add a couple kale leaves to the juice du jour. Kale has a very mild flavor and doesn’t ‘interrupt’ my daily juice concoction’s flavor profile and I pack in the extra nutrients. Bang for your buck!
 
But, one of the family's favorite ways to see King Kale offered up - is in the form of Cheesy Kale Chips. Fantabulous! Here is the recipe we fiddled with until we got it ‘just right’. Don’t be afraid to change this or that…it’s all about what makes YOUR taste buds tingle! Also, I use a dehydrator because I like to leave them technically raw (very low heat for longer amount of time); however, an oven works well too!

Hope you enjoy your ‘chips’. Check back in and let me know how it goes – especially any tweaks you make!

Peace…

Cheesy Kale Chips

INGREDIENTS

3 Tablespoons Nutritional Yeast*
2 teaspoons Braggs Liquid Amino
1 Tablespoon Garlic Powder
1 teaspoon dried Basil
½ teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Ginger Powder
½ teaspoon Onion Powder
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 Cup Raw Cashews (soaked for 2 hours)
1 large bunch of curly, green kale (I made with Red Russian too!), washed, large stems removed, torn into bite sized pieces (just remember they SHRINK when dried – so not too small).
   [* Nutritional yeast is deactivated yeast; it's not alive and has a slightly cheesy flavor which many vegans like to use as a cheese substitute. It can be found at most health food stores and some big-chain grocery stores.]

PREP
Put all of the coating ingredients into a food processor or Vitamix. Blend until smooth. Using your hands, massage coating onto kale pieces making sure you get it inside the curls. I’ve found leaving the kale a bit damp helps the process along.

Place the coated kale pieces on teflex sheets (they don’t have to be flattened out) and dehydrate at 105⁰ overnight or until coating feels dry. Now, you can slide them onto the mesh screen and continue to dehydrate until they are very crispy (3-4 more hours).

OVEN METHOD: Place on cookie sheets and bake in a 200⁰ oven until they are dried out and crispy (45 – 60 minutes).

Eat ‘em up! Enjoy…

Glazed Walnuts

Living a sustainable life means more than recycling, gardening and car pooling. When Jerry and I started on this journey we sat down and talked about what ‘living a sustainable life’ meant to us. After careful thought, and really great discussion, we came to the conclusion that if we wanted to be successful – as in any venture – we would require a firm foundation. Hence, the idea of building blocks was born. We defined our building blocks for a truly sustainable life as; Food, Shelter, Transportation, Energy and Health. Of course there is much more involved, but these building blocks, we decided, are our foundation.

Sustaining your health so you are able bodied and ready to do things for yourself is a key component. We are not the poster children for healthy lifestyle…yes, we have a few vices or bad habits…BUT…we do strive to live a healthy lifestyle. One of the challenges I faced (I’m the head cook here!) was finding healthy alternatives for snacking. You can become overwhelmed when you start to research nutrition and begin to sift for truth from fiction. I’ve made up my mind that is all about balance.

When looking for a snack to replace the candy coated chocolates that find their way into the pantry, I had a goal. I wanted to find something Jerry would really like and it would provide a benefit – besides caloric intake. I found it! Walnuts. Studies have shown Walnuts to be heart healthy because of the omega-3 fatty acids they provide. To the extent that the FDA “said walnuts would be considered “new drugs” and as such would require a new drug application to become FDA-approved.”¹  

Now I was on a mission. I played around with the recipe until I came up with this yummy treat. I use my dehydrator and keep them on a low temperature so they are technically still ‘raw’, but some people find raw nuts harder to digest and a nice toasting in the oven will work well too. Give these a try and let us know what you think!

Glazed Walnuts

Ingredients:

1/3 C. Organic Raw Agave

1 Tbl Organic Cinnamon

1 tsp Ground Ginger

½ Tbl Carob Powder

1 tsp Vanilla (homemade – extra yummy J )

5-6 C Organic Raw Walnuts

Directions:

Mix the agave, cinnamon, ginger, carob and vanilla in a decent sized bowl. Once blended well, add the walnuts and toss. You want a nice coating on all the nuts – not swimming in it!

This is where you decide...

Dehydrator Method:

Spread mixture evenly on a Paraflexx® sheet (parchment paper will work as well) – makes about two trays. Dehydrate them at 105⁰ for approximately 5-6 hours. The timing depends on several factors (humidity, personal preference). We like our Glazed Walnuts to not feel tacky and have a bit of a crunch, but you do whatever suits your tastes.

Oven Method:

Spread mixture evenly on a silpat baking mat (parchment paper will work as well) – makes about 1 large cookie sheet. Toast them at 200⁰ for 20-30 minutes. Again, this is a personal preference. Just keep a close eye on them if you use the oven.

Enjoy!

Resources:

1. http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/03/07/fda-says-walnuts-are-drugs.aspx