Now I know how guinea pigs feel

So my friend often feeds kale to her guinea pigs, Winnie and Theo.  They really really love it, but I have always felt so-so about its flavor.  But now I love it, hence the title of this post, in case there was any confusion...

Anyone who has ever lived with me knows that I have a difficult time having packaged snacks around the house because I will DESTROY them within 2 days.  Flavored potato chips are my biggest weakness, and I had to stop buying them because I have no self control and let's face it, they're terrible for you.

But this evening, I discovered a solution to this problem. While stressing about the amount of groceries in my fridge that I must consume before hopping a plane to Arizona tomorrow, I discovered a bunch of almost-fresh kale in the veggie drawer.  The roommate suggested that I stir fry it up and save it, but I really despise leftovers--especially leftover vegetables--and I am not the world's biggest fan of stir-fried kale because it has a mouth-feel grossly similar to raw broccoli. The kale wasn't going to keep until I got back, and even though it's cheap, I didn't want to throw it out because I also despise wasting food.

I also wanted a snack for the 6-hour plane ride tomorrow because I was stupid and bought a 5 PM flight and I am poor and have little money for airport food. 

Put all of the parts of this equation together and you get...kale chips.

Kale chips are one of those foods that my family would mock me for eating.  But they are ridiculously tasty, cost-effective, and are MUCH more nutritional than potato chips.  A bunch of kale costs less than a dollar, and a bag of chips can cost up to $4.  So you can make either a ton of kale chips or buy some potato chips for about the same price.  You do the math.

And seriously, these are hella tasty.  I had to restrain myself from the cookie sheet and grab a plastic container to save some for tomorrow.

I'm ridiculously excited about this new discovery. 

You need:

1 bunch of kale, rinsed, ripped into bite-size pieces (sans stem), and dried thoroughly
a few glugs of olive oil
whatever seasoning inspires you at the moment/salt

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Spread the kale out on cookie sheets.  For one bunch of kale, either make it on 2 pans or do it in stages--it's worth it because it comes out crunchier.  

Drizzle olive oil, add seasoning, mix things around a bit.  Bake for 15 minutes or until kale is brown around the edges and crunchy.

 

(I actually had to rebake these for a bit...)

K approves!

UPDATE: My sister just mentioned that TSA might mistake the dried kale for pot.  She has an excellent point... This + some loose leaf tea with a tea strainer MAY rouse some suspicion.  So.  Maybe not the best plane food.