Raw Life Coaching

Did you know that one cup of chopped kale contains 307% of your daily value (DV) of Vitamin A, 200% of your DV of Vitamin C, and 13% of your DV of calcium?  I had no idea what to do with kale before I switched from a standard American diet (SAD) to my new living and raw food diet.  I’d always been afraid to try it, it was leafy, green, and frightening.    Now, I make kale chips all the time and love it in my salads and sandwiches too.

Kale is a great source of calcium, manganese, potassium and iron.   It also contains a whopping 1361% of your DV of Vitamin K–in just one chopped cup!  It’s loaded with antioxidants, and is high in lutein and zeaxanthin which help prevent macular degeneration (vision loss associated with old age).

One of the best tasting kale recipes that I have found, so far, are to make kale chips.  By making these, I’m making sure that I add A LOT of kale to my diet as I normally eat these straight out of the dehydrator, even before they are done.

Crispy Kale Chips:

1 or 2 bunches of kale, washed

3/4  C Thai coconut water
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1/2 C fresh lemon juice
2 tsp sea salt
1 1/4 C raw macadamia nuts, cashews, and/or pine nuts (or any combination)
1/4 C stone-ground mustard (we’ve also used dijon and it worked well)

2+ TBS nutritional yeast

After washing the kale, take the large stems out by running a knife along the edges of the stems.  Tear the kale into bite size pieces and place in a large bowl.  Add enough fresh water to the bowl to cover the kale and sprinkle a tablespoon or two of salt in the water.  Allowing the kale to soak with help soften the texture (though I have made kale chips without soaking them first and they turned out fine, too).  Allow the kale to soak for half of an hour and then drain.

In the mean time, combine the coconut water, garlic, lemon juice, salt, nuts and mustard in a Vita-mix or high speed blender and blend until smooth.

Pour this dressing over the drained kale chips.  Add the  nutritional yeast to taste.  Massage the dressing into the kale to make sure that everything is evenly coated.  Place the kale chips onto mesh dehydrator screens and dehydrate at 110 degrees for 6-8 hours or until crispy.  Enjoy.  And eat lots of kale!

*Note* I tend to leave my kale chips in the dehydrator until I’m ready to eat or serve them.  It’s fairly humid where I live, so if they stay out of the dehydrator for too long they become soggy.