No Fuss Nutrition: Parmesan Garlic Kale Chips

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Y’all, I’m on a roll with these new recipes aren’t I?? I celebrated Valentine’s Day by submitting my DICAS dietetic internship application, meaning my free-time went from 0 to 100 really fast. Outside of work, the last couple of months have been filled with personal statement-writing, resume editing, GRE cramming, and finally application submitting. Needless to say, it is a great feeling to have all of that behind me.

So…what am I going to do with all of my extra free time? Aside from continuing to help Allison at PrepDish with various nutrition marketing and communications tasks, I’m excited to finally put more focus on this blog!  I’m hoping to update MUCH more regularly, and to continue trying at least one new recipe a week to post. I’m also hoping to transfer my blog from wordpress.com to wordpress.org (yeah, apparently there’s a difference). This change would allow me to have greater control over my blog and how I manage the content, layout, etc… I do have one other task I hope to accomplish, but you’ll have to wait for that one…
 
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One thing you don’t have to wait for is a new recipe, though! I’ve posted a lot of breakfasts and dinner meals, but realized I’ve been neglecting snacks and sides. Snack wise, I usually stick to fruits, carrots/raw veggies/pita chips and hummus, yogurt, or a small bowl of cereal. In other words, things that don’t require much assembly. Every once in a while I get creative and make something that I can snack on through the week. Last week was one of those times. I’ve seen a lot of recipes for kale chips on the internet and Instagram, but had never gotten in the kitchen to make my own! I recently stumbled on Lighten Up Charleston (why doesn’t Athens have an awesome program like this??) and found a super delicious and simple (!) recipe for Parmesan Garlic Kale Chips. I had just bought a bag of kale at the store, so it was almost fate that I recreate this recipe for myself.
 
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Parmesan Garlic Kale Chips servings: 4-6

Ingredients:

6 cups kale, stems removed
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/3 cup shredded cheese of choice (naturally I chose pecorino romano as it was all I had on hand, but parmesan would be a great easy-to-find alternative!)

1) Preheat oven to 375*F
2) Wash kale and pat dry. If not already in small, bite-size pieces, roughly chop (or tear) so it is. I bought a bag of it already in smaller pieces.
3) In a large bowl, toss kale leaves with 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil.
4) Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil before transferring leaves to it in a single layer. Aluminum foil = less clean up!
5) Evenly sprinkle the garlic powder and shredded cheese on top of the kale leaves, tossing to coat if desired.
6) Bake kale leaves for roughly 15 minutes, or until kale is crisp and turning brown, with some green color still visible.
7) Enjoy!..once removed from oven and cooled šŸ˜‰

I stored mine in an airtight container in my pantry overnight before having more the next evening, and they had gotten a little…I don’t want to say “soggy”, but…soggy. You could try lightening up on the amount of olive oil used, or just pop them back in the oven at 300* for 2-3 minutes until they crisp back up again. Good as new!

ciao down,
clara