Last term was a scary time of busy, lonely, rushed, exhaustion, blah, blah, blah you already know all of that. During that time, my diet hit an all time low. And we're talking low. Daily morning mochas. Most meals eaten out during the week (and not at Hipster Vegan spots, either). A lot of Easy Mac when I was working at the ADHD Lab. In the spirit of authenticity, I also ate a lot of Ben & Jerry's.
This term I decided that, although it would take some work, I had to do something differently. And I am proud to tell you that I am off the mocha-easymac-fastfood circle of doom.
Hello, my name is Lisa and if it has no nutritional content, is chock full of chemicals and preservatives, but tastes delicious, I will put it in my mouth.
Since the first of the year, it's been whole foods, whole grains and lean proteins. Very, very little processed goods.
But last Sunday Shoes walked in the door with a small bag of potato chips and a 7 Up. I had already had a "cheat" meal on Friday night and knew I had already used my weekly free pass. But man, I wanted those potato chips. So freaking badly. I could taste the wonderful, sweet, tangy, smoky barbeque taste on my tongue by just smelling them. Shoes hit the road for the Vineyard Town at about 6:30 pm (another all too brief weekend visit come to a close) and I set to the internet, desperately searching for a way to satisfy the new craving I had for crunchy salty amazingness.
And that's when I stumbled up on the Kale Chips phenomenon. As in, all of my internet searches took me to the same place of Kale Nirvana. And I decided to follow the path to inner healthy fake potato chip peace myself.
The kale before I ripped it up:
Wow. That's a lot more than I thought it would be and I still have half a head of kale left. (Is it called a head of kale?) Also didn't want to crowd my little kale friends so decided to do 2 batches.
After.
The result? One happy, still eating healthy, graduate student. I never would have thought I would say it, but these little greens crisp right up, are crunchy, airy, light, salty and so stinking addictive. My internet advisers assured me the kale chips would keep, so I let them dry out a little more on the counter, put them in airtight containers, and the next morning experienced kale fail. They were no longer crispy, but back to their leafy selves. I'm not sure what happened; commenters on Kath's blog recommended leaving them out and not bagging them up right away. The first result, however, made the effort entirely worthy it.
Kiss my foot, barbeque evil.
If you search the internet, you'll find recipes everywhere. I got this one from Kath Eats Real Food and will be re-visiting her website again. And again. (Her recipe at the bottom of this post.)
And, just in case you're curious, I also love these websites for delicious, don't feel bad about putting it in your body, food. (Has eating whole food made a difference? 10 pounds lost, more energy, less moodiness, clearer skin and a focused mind say absolutely. Will I ever fall off the whole food bandwagon? I probably will! And it will be delicious, maybe even worth it, and then I'll collect myself and get back on. We can only do our best.)
The Gracious Pantry
Clean Eating Magazine
Clean Eating Club
Kale Chips
* Preheat oven to 375
* Tear off leaves of one head of kale into bite sized pieces and spread on cookie sheet
* Drizzle with 2 tsp olive oil
* Add parmesan, asiago or seasoning of your choice (I went with just a little light, sea salt and pepper)
* Bake for about 15 minutes, until kale is crispy, edges are brown, and kale moves around in pan
Funny you should mention these...I saw them bagged at the health food store recently and almost bought them but they were really expensive and I try most of the time to avoid the seasonings that will make me stink like rat breath (do rats have bad breath?). All varieties had garlic in them.
Do you find all the washing/drying/tearing up/drizzling and waiting for a small portion at a time, worth it? I really want to try these...I'm with you...sometimes the mouth just needs salty/crunchy and it can be difficult to do in a healthy way.
Hi, my name is Willow...I like to put good tasting but bad for me things in my mouth too.
I thought the Kale was a little expensive too ... I think a little over $2 for one head at Fred Meyer. I think the whole process took about 20 minutes (15 minutes to cook); wasn't too bad and when I realized I had conquered the food craving, entirely worth.
We should start a self help group. !.