Craving the salty, crunchy goodness of chips? Why not try kale chips!

I know, I know what you are thinking: "Kale chips?  Really Lisa?  I don't think so."  But as I sat in front of my computer trying to get motivated to write some copy for my new website (stay tuned!) I glanced at my twitter page and noticed a post from a fellow Food Buzzer and food blogger about making kale chips!  I've heard of them and people swear by them but I had to try them myself.  I was not disappointed!

Kale is a highly nutrient dense vegetable - and so it is quite good for you.  It's high in calcium, iron, vitamins A, C and K, and contains lots of cancer fighting antioxidants and phytochemicals.  Trust me, it's one of those vegetables you pass by in the grocery store but instead you should consider making a dish with kale one of these days. It tastes good roasted with garlic, raw in a salad, as a topping on pizza, and more.

I decided to follow A Thought For Food's idea and took her recommendation of changing the spices to those I new I would enjoy.  I took a bout 2/3 of a head of kale, washed and dried it and ripped up into bite sized pieces.  I then drizzled a little olive oil and added fresh ground pepper, some sea salt and some garlic powder and mixed everything around in a bowl.  I spread it out on some tin foil on a baking sheet (it's a good idea to spray the tin foil or the sheet with spray oil or use parchment paper on your baking sheet so that the chips don't stick).  I baked them for 20 minutes at 350 degrees F and out came some tasty and nutritious chips without the guilt of fried potato chips!

The oven dehydrates the greens so they become crispy but the leaves are so thin that when you put them in your mouth they are really brittle and crunchy.  The spices make a big impact on your taste buds - even more so than the kale flavors which are much more subtle.  I really like them and would probably play around with different spices to see what  I like best.

What is your go to nutritious snack when you are craving something not so healthy?  Feel free to share here!

Chow for now!  :)

Easy, light, spring dinner!

I just wanted to post a couple of photos of what I made for dinner tonight.  I was feeling like I needed some greens in my diet (maybe because I ate nothing but carbs since breakfast) ... of course I ended up pairing the greens with pasta but it was Barilla Plus thin spaghetti which is multi grain and has 4 grams of fiber and 10 g of protein per serving.  It doesn't have that... whole grain taste and is the pasta I always buy.
I started by sauteing one halved clove of garlic and about 1 tsp of extra virgin olive oil in a saute pan and after allowing a few minutes for the garlic to infuse, I added two large leaves of kale (chopped, tough stem removed).  I also added a handful of pignoli nuts and a little nutmeg (which I always add to dark leafy greens to complement the earthy flavor of the greens). 

Once the kale was wilted and bright green, I added 1 medium sized zucchini (shredded) and cooked it all down until it was sauce like.

After about 5 minutes of cooking I added 1/2 can of diced, low sodium tomatoes and one tablespoon of basil (I didn't have any fresh on hand so I used - and swear  by Dorot brand frozen basil cubes which can be found at Trader Joe's.).

That's it - Once the pasta was done boiling, I added a small amount of the pasta water to the sauce along with the drained pasta and topped it with a little grated Parmesan.  This is a healthy and filling dinner with good nutritional value for a warm spring night. 

I must share a pic of Murphy stealing a piece of runaway thin spaghetti....

Do you have any favorite "go to" spring recipes that you enjoy cooking?  Please leave me a comment!

Chow for now! :)