kale crisps

Well, now that we've been following Eat to Live guidelines from Dr. Joel Fuhrman, the food around our house is a little different. Gone are the cookies, gone is the cheese. Gone is the BACON. (Sniff.) Gone are the three Scotches before bed.

I'm not going to lie - it wasn't an easy switch. But it makes sense that we should eat mostly fruits, vegetables, beans, and whole grains. And I feel healthier, though I've had to make some alterations to his plan.

Dr. Fuhrman recommends a fairly strict vegan/pescatarian diet, but that doesn't work for me. After a month of eating like a gorilla, I had lost 15 pounds. I cannot afford to lose more, so I started keeping track of my caloric intake and expenditure on LiveSTRONG.com. According to that calculator, I've been running a thousand-calorie deficit for the last month! It's no wonder I lost so much weight so quickly. So, I'm adding back some foods.

Long story short (too late), I think I've decided what to call myself. I'm a low-fat, low-sodium, whole grain, anti-processed-foods, non-dairy vegetarian who eats eggs and lean meat.

One thing we miss is sandwiches - I'm going to make some whole wheat beer bread this afternoon - so every once in a while, we stuff a whole wheat pita with grilled portobello mushrooms and sauteed veggies. And alongside it, we like to have kale chips.

Now, kale is a super food, but make no mistake about it - these are NOT substitutes for potato chips. But they are crispy and taste good.

Baked Kale 'Chips'

a bunch of kale
salt-free Tony Chachere's cajun seasoning


Preheat the oven to 350.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Rinse the kale well, and tear the leafy parts off of the tough ribs. Dry thoroughly.

Spread the kale on the baking sheet, and mist lightly with olive oil. (We got a Misto olive oil mister on ebay, and it works great.)

Sprinkle with Tony's.

Bake for 10 minutes. Serve immediately.