Kale chips satisfy the salty and crunchy cravings for potato chips. I enjoyed a batch as I watched the Seahawks pummeled the Broncos.

If I could pick just one junk food that I could eat without consequences, I’d pick potato chips. Sure chocolate is tasty, but my taste buds prefer the salt to the sweet, the crunch more than the smooth.

Thanks to kale (of all things!), I can enjoy that salty, crunchy taste again. I know there are some of you out there who believe kale chips taste better than regular potato chips. Well you are crazy and should be shunned by polite society. Seriously, have you tried these?

Kale isn’t better, but it’s a good substitute when you need a fix.

They’re easy to make and with a little creativity, you can make some wonderful tasting chips.

If you never tried making kale chips before, here is a warning: They are super easy to burn. People always use a higher temperature than needed. Baking at 275 does the trick, but you need to watch them like a hawk.

Just add in a little olive oil and lightly coat the leaves.

These are great if you are on Weight Watchers – just 2 points for 4 ounces. But if you’re like me and eating about 20g of carbs a day, I’d skip them for now. I made my last batch for the Super Blowout Bowl. Once I hit my goal of weighing 200 pounds, I’ll add them back into my diet. But for now, I’ll share the joy.

Kale Chips
Net Carbs: 9g
Weight Watchers PointsPlus: 2
Servings: 4

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch kale (about a pound), washed and dried
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• sea salt, for sprinkling

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 275 degrees.
• Remove the rib from the kale and cut into 1-1/2-inch pieces.
• Place kale in a bowl and toss with olive oil. The leaves just need a light coating or the leaves will be too limp and greasy.
• Place on a baking sheet, making sure leaves don’t overlap.
• Sprinkle with salt.
• Bake until crisp for 20 minutes. Be sure to turn the leaves over halfway through. Also, some smaller pieces might cook faster and need to be removed sooner, so keep checking in on the kale as it cooks.

Easy to burn even at low temperatures, be sure to check on the kale’s progress.

Kale Chip Variations

• Salt & Vinegar Kale Chips – Just add in 2 tsp of apple cider vinegar with the olive oil.
• Spicy Kale Chips – Add red pepper chili flakes before  baking the chips. Once they are out of the oven, you can lightly dust the kale chips with paprika or Cheyenne pepper powder.
• BBQ Kale Chips – Instead of sprinkling your chips with salt, add this easy to make BBQ mix after your chips come out of the oven.  Mix: 1/4 C paprika, 2 tbsp of ancho chile powder, 2 tbsp of *Ideal Brown (brown sugar substitute), 1 tbsp of garlic powder, 1 tbsp salt, ½ tsp ground mustard.

*If you are not counting carbs, then use 2 tbsp of brown sugar in the BBQ mix.