Did You Know Veggies Can Be Fast Food?

Written by  Hayley Billingsley
Part of National Nutrition Month 2014

If you’re like me, the end of a hard day often becomes an excuse for grabbing unhealthy snacks. Thirty minutes later, you’re full, but feel a little disappointed with yourself. Food should both taste great and leave us more energized. Learning to prepare tasty, fast vegetable snacks can make you feel great and fit into your tight schedule.

Quickly make your own tasty chips with kale, a green leafy vegetable! In addition to being easy on your wallet, kale is an excellent source of Vitamin A, C, and K, as well as a good source of Potassium and Calcium. The recipe below only takes 20 minutes!

Baking is only one method of eating kale.  It’s wonderful tossed in salads, blended in green smoothies, in quiche, in soups, and sautéed. The list doesn’t end- vegetables are versatile and easy to experiment with. What’s your favorite veggie to snack on?

Kale Chips (Courtesy of AllRecipes.Com)

-          1 bunch Kale

-          1 tablespoon Olive Oil

-          Salt to taste

1.)     Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2.)     With a knife or kitchen shears carefully remove the leaves from the thick stems and tear into bite size pieces. Wash and thoroughly dry kale. Drizzle kale with olive oil and sprinkle with salt

3.)     Bake until the edges brown but are not burnt, 10 to 15 minutes.

Image by Hayley Billingsley

References

Produce For Better Health Foundation. (2014). Kale: nutrition.  selection. storage. Vegetable Nutrition Database.  Retrieved from http://www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org/kale

United States Department of Agriculture.  (2014). Kale.  National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference [Data File].  Retrieved from http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/3030?

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Del Ray, Lucy. (2014). Baked kale chips. Retrieved from http://allrecipes.com/recipe/baked-kale-chips/

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