I love Whole Foods, wandering around seeing what new products have been granted self space and what local products are new to market as well. I spend a lot of time in Scottsdale, Arizona and a lot of time at the Whole foods there. Every time I go, I have to take some extra time that first trip to the store to see what's new. Arizona is part of the western region for Whole Foods that includes California, where Colorado is part of the mountain west region, so we get different products. Arizona gets a lot of products that originate from California and if they sell well, we will be lucky to hopefully see them on the shelves in Colorado and vice versa.
There are a couple things I can't find at my local Whole Foods that I love to get down there. One item in particular, Quite Cheezy Kale Chips made by Alive & Radiant Foods (my Whole Foods only sells two of the flavors as of late and the Quite Cheesy is not one of them). The entire line of their products are delicious. I think I seriously bought a bag every trip I made to the store (that is often) and ate the entire bag! Serving size is 2.2, that's a joke...I eat the whole bag wishing I had more! After looking at the ingredient list, I knew I could make these at home when I got back to my dehydrator. This recipe is pretty darn close...close enough for me!
I know not everyone has a dehydrator, but you should (in my opinion), since there are so many great things you can do with them and they are reasonably priced (I have this dehydrator and it works great). I have not tried this in the oven on the dehydrate setting, but if you do, please leave a comment on how they turned out. This spread would be awesome as a "cheese" spread for crackers (I have numerous grain-free cracker recipes) or as a dip for vegetables. So if you don't have a dehydrator, you can still enjoy this recipe!
“Cheesy” Kale Chips
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw cashews (soaked overnight)
- 1/3 cup roasted red bell pepper*
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons Nutritional Yeast**
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 bunch kale (I used Dino, but any Kale will work)
Instructions
- Wash the kale, pat dry and tear into pieces, about 1 1/2 inches and place in a bowl
- Drain the water off of the cashews and place all of the ingredients in a food processor or blender until smooth
- Pour the spread into the bowl and massage it into the kale to cover each piece
- Place kale on dehydrator trays and dehydrate at 125 for 8-10 hours or until desired crispiness
- Store in an airtight container, I prefer glass
Quick notes
*I used roasted peppers for additional flavor. The Alive & Radiant Foods is considered raw, so a red bell pepper is what they used. Either one will work.
**Nutritional Yeast is something a lot of vegetarians use to make things taste cheesy. It is full of B vitamins, some protein and lots of flavor. It can be found in the baking section of a health food store or may be sold in bulk. It looks like yellow flaky fish food to me:)
Variations
To make these a bit spicy, add some cayenne pepper or other seasonings you like.
If you are looking for ways to get more greens in your kids, this recipe will work!
