I read about this "amazing", "life-altering", green of a million health benefits and ran right out to the store to grab a giant bag to incorporate into my smoothies. This was before kale was splattered all over every trendy restaurant's menu and before you could buy it at Trader Joe's- so I was a little....uneducated about the green.
I dragged that big giant bag home, read that I should pull the leaves off the stems and toss a good hearty handful into my blender with my fruits and chug it down with a post-workout smoothie.
Well THAT was a mistake.
I remember I vaguely interpreted that disclaimer about the stems being super bitter and that a little kale goes a long ways in a smoothie. I ended up washing the smoothie down the sink, throwing the remainder of my kale in the trash and vowing that glare at any person who exclaimed "I LOVE kale!".
I avoided it for a few years, steering away from it on menus, in smoothies, and it certainly never graced my grocery basket ever again.
Cue a dinner at Mintwood Place and sharing an appetizer of burrata, kales, hazelnut, apple & tamarind with friends. The crunch baked kale was outstanding. Dare I say I got territorial over the appetizer. Fast forward and a friend brought a kale and brussel sprout salad to a super bowl party. Again...delightful.
It finally occurred to me that my initial interaction with kale had been a rushed, brash experience that resulted in a less than warranted aversion.
Looking for some healthy, quick snacks I can make to munch on while I am on marathon calls for work, I decided to jump on this kale chip bandwagon (making sure to truly remove all those stems!) and have found a new craving that isn't a samoa girl scout cookie.
Not to be a sell out....but... I LOVE baked kale chips.
Watch out world...I may just buy a yoga mat now.
If you are looking for Kale inspiration, I found mine here, and here.
Love you, yoga mat, kale chips, and all!
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