Spicy kale chips

Breakfast: Chef’s Breakfast with a blueberry/banana breakfast smoothie.

Lunch: Avocado, cheese and grilled zucchini sandwich

Dinner: Couscous avocado salad and spicy kale chips

I’m back on my bike and I need more food; it’s funny how quickly this happens. Though its not the 30-minute morning ride it used to be, so that second-breakfast-at-work isn’t necessary, my food consumption definitely increases as the density of my thighs does.

I woke up today and there were 3 avocadoes teetering dangerously close to the edge of the cliff of grossness. Oh no, wastage! What to do? Spread the still-good bits of that avocado on bread and fill it with other awesomeness, that’s what! Grilled zucchini makes this sandwich a bit better than your average bread stack and sweet chili sauce…well, you know how much I love sweet chili sauce.

There were still 2 avocadoes left at dinner time so in they went with the couscous, tomato, greens and mushrooms and I cooked up some kale chips to go with it. Potential wastage averted! Being a bit inventive can save money and avoid throwing food away, so try to implement a ‘no throw away’ rule in your house and see if you can stick to it!

Anyway, back to the kale. Who doesn’t love kale? Apart from my boss, no one. It contains a ridiculous amount of goodness including beta carotene, vitamin K, vitamin C and calcium, and is a strong anti-oxidant that’s even said to have anti-cancer properties. I almost feel fraudulent posting this as a recipe because its so blindingly simple, but this blog is about ideas as much as complicated meals so here we are: super simple spicy kale chips that are great as a snack and as a side dish too.

You’ll need:

            2 big handfuls of kale

            1 tbsp olive oil

            1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, or more if you’re feeling spicy

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 160c

Chop the kale into bite-size pieces

Mix the oil and the cayenne pepper together, and drizzle it over the kale

Toss the kale to ensure even coverage

Lay on a baking tray and put in the oven for 5 minutes

Turn and toss the kale and put back in the oven if necessary

Keep a close eye on the kale and take it out of the oven when its crisping all over

Leave to cool then enjoy!

The first time I made this I used way too much oil, and though I wouldn’t admit it at the time, it was bloody awful. I’m not one to admit defeat though so I sat munching on those slimy cabbage chunks til they were good and gone.

As ever, you can make these as spicy or as mild as you like. If you don’t like spices at all, they’re great with just the oil. But it’s also fun to put more cayenne pepper in and ‘forget’ to tell your eating buddy that they’re spicy at all. Cue evil fun.