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Several friends have been raving to me lately about homemade kale chips, a delicious way to enjoy your leafy greens. While you can buy them at the health food store too, they are WAY tastier not to mention FAR less expensive if you take a few minutes and make them yourself!Â
In particular, kale chips really satisfy as a low carb snack when you are craving a crunch but don’t want to eat any type of starchy chip.
Why It’s Best to Cook Your Kale
Making kale chips basically involves breaking up an entire bunch into 2-inch pieces, mixing them with olive oil, vinegar, and salt and then drying them out to a crisp in a warm oven for about 30 minutes. That’s it!
Why are we even taking the time to make kale chips, you may ask?  Isn’t kale far better to eat raw in a green smoothie?
Actually, the answer is no, kale is not a good choice for eating raw. Kale is a cruciferous vegetable, and as such, contains goitrogens that actively suppress the thyroid gland. Contrary to popular belief, however, it is not high in oxalic acid, which can be a risk for the kidneys.
The good news is that gentle cooking above 212 F /100 C will significantly reduce the goitrogens, so you can enjoy your kale with reduced downside risk. (1)
If you already suffer from thyroid disorders, you may choose to avoid cruciferous veggies altogether, and that is, of course, your choice based on your personal situation.
However, in the context of a traditional, iodine-rich diet, cooked cruciferous veggies like kale are a healthy choice.
I realize that there are people reading this who will scoff at the recommendation to cook kale. I would suggest to those who are really into the green smoothie fad that blowing out your thyroid is not a great idea. Whatever small amounts of nutrition are lost by the gentle cooking of kale is more than made up for in the additional protection to this delicate, butterfly-shaped gland in your neck.
You don’t want to do ANYTHING that messes with your thyroid. This little gland is very hard to fix once it goes on the fritz. Protect it at all costs!
Homemade Kale Chips
I should mention that I was skeptical of this recipe at first, as I really do not like kale much at all. I must say that after trying them myself, the verdict is that they are truly delicious!
They make a good crunchy substitute for croutons on salads if you are low-carbing it.
Another great thing about this kale chips recipe is that it uses olive oil. Fat eaten with your veggies increases nutrient absorption considerably. If you’re worried about cooking with olive oil, the linked article explains why this isn’t a problem. The recipe turns out better with olive oil than using coconut oil or even avocado oil, in my opinion.
Homemade Kale Chips Recipe
Easy recipe for homemade kale chips that preserves the nutrients and reduces the potential for thyroid damage from the goitrogenic substances in this popular leafy green vegetable.
Ingredients
- 1 bunch kale rinsed well and dried, preferably organic
- 1 Tbl raw apple cider vinegar
- 2 Tbl extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
Instructions
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Strip leaves from stems in approximately 2 inch pieces. Rinse and dry thoroughly.
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Place kale pieces in a large ziplock bag and pour dressing over them. Close bag tightly. Massage dressing into the kale pieces for 1-2 minutes.
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Place on parchment paper lined cookie sheets and bake at 300 F/ 149 C for 20-30 minutes. Turn the kale pieces for the last 10 minutes to make sure both sides are thoroughly dried out and crisp.
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Yum! The crunchiness is what makes this recipe, in my opinion. Kale chips would be an awesome, grain free addition to salads for that bit of crunchiness without any croutons!
Recipe Notes
I used red kale for this recipe, but any type of kale works great!
Dr Mary
Great information. It seems that goitrogens are reduced most by boiling for 30 minutes. Although steaming and other forms of heating do reduce goitrogens. As a guess, if you started baking them rather wet at a higher temperature it might be similar to steaming. It does seem sitting IN the water helps though.
On Temperature: I’ve made yummy kale chips at many temperatures. My favorite is to use the dehydrator and keep the temperature between 100 and 150 ~12 hours. However, this won’t help reduce goitrogens much, based on what we know about boiling. The chips turn out with less of a burnt flavor if you keep temperatures below 250 or what VERY CAREFULLY. Your choice – 2-5 minutes in a HOT 400 degree oven. About 20-30 minutes at 250, or 12 hours at 100.
On Storage: The Kale Chips keep very well if they are thoroughly dried and crispy in the dehydrating process. Once dried/cooked you need to either – EAT THEM ALL RIGHT Away (very easy). OR store in a sealed container. If you live in a climate with any humidity, try keeping them in the fridge to stay dry. I’ve used a paper bag in the fridge. When it’s very dry here in Southern California (15-20%) humidity or less – they keep OK in a sealed container on the counter top. If you have any of the little silicon packets from vitamins that say DO NOT EAT, you can try tossing them in. The Fridge is easier.
FLAVORS: I love them with nutritional yeast. Spice and Oil to taste!
Thanks for the great discussion and website, I too am trying to learn all there is about protecting your thyroid.
Marti Howard
How long do they last? Not long if you can not stop eating them, otherwise left in a bowl covered with paper towel or saran wrap, or throw in a plastic bag with end left open. They are so good my problem is I eat them right out of the oven and can not stop. There is usually NONE left. I buy all kinds of kale, my favorite is the Bag of Russian Kale at Trader Joes, sooo good. I take kale off the stems, toss it in a bowl with coconut oil and cracked black or white pepper., sometimes lemon juice, sometimes not. Hot oven for 15 min. Crisp and good. Oh! I should mention I spread them on a large cookie sheet, 1/2 bag fills one cookie sheet, so I do it twice. Although while the second batch bakes I usually eat the first batch right away. This stuff is addicting.
katie
How long do they keep? I’ve seen this question twice with no answer. Anyone?
Best Healing Tools via Facebook
for iodine supplementation…breast fibroids have cleared up..
Best Healing Tools via Facebook
I use
Holly Anne Jorgensen via Facebook
Karen Tough – it is also iodoral that I take, the 50mg one and I’ve heard that is much better than Lugols
Holly Anne Jorgensen via Facebook
Sara you say the lake chips help protect your thyroid, what do you think of iodine supplementation?
^ thanks Karen I agree. All soils seem deficient. I take 50 mg a day that’s like 33,000% rda but rda is bs anyway
MunchTalk via Facebook
I’ve been wanting to make these recently!!! I’ll make sure and get the green kale. 🙂
thehealthyhomeeconomist via Facebook
The purple kale chips I made yesterday were very bitter tasting … I’m going to stick with the green kale from now on as they seem to make much better chips!
Antonia Louise Longo via Facebook
Every time i’ve tried to mkae kale chips i’ve failed miserably! Which sucks because I crave them so bad >:(