Loving the BITE: Kale Chips

Ever wonder if there’s any truth to all the Detoxification claims made by hundreds of nutrition products these days?  Well, whether a particular product works is anyone’s guess, but there is s a lot of detox that goes on in your body each day.  In fact, day in and day out, our cells have an uphill battle to stay healthy while they are constantly under attack.  We subject them to toxins in our environment, from our air, from our foods, and even from our own physiological processes.

And, yes, our out-of-breath-on-last-cycling-interval-lactic-acid-workouts certainly contribute.  What’s a cyclist’s cells to do?

A 2-Phase detox process, actually.  And there’s nothing like the right nutrients to help them detoxify and stay healthy!  Enter kale.

Recipe of the week: Kale Chips

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch kale
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon seasoned salt

Directions:

1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a non insulated cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. With a knife or kitchen shears carefully remove the leaves from the thick stems and tear into bite size pieces. Wash and thoroughly dry kale with a salad spinner. Drizzle kale with olive oil and sprinkle with seasoning salt.
3. Bake until the edges brown but are not burnt, 10 to 15 minutes.

Comments:

Kale chips are a great vegetable or snack recipe that can be used to replace chips or other salty snack foods.  And, it’s much more than a simple substitute, it’s a SuperFood recipe (cue Superman theme song)!  I’ll admit, I’m a little late on the kale bandwagon, but better late than never.  And, before you laugh at the thought of eating kale instead of chips -I’m picturing my husband’s reaction right now- I’m not really suggesting that you’d always make this substitution or show up to next year’s Super Bowl party with a giant bowl of kale chips.  But, in an effort to get in more SuperFood vegetables that actually help your body instead of drag it down, let’s give it a try!

Kale is quickly becoming regarded as a nutrition powerhouse.  Why?  For one, or even for four, it’s loaded with anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, antioxidant, and cholesterol lowering nutrients.  What else is new, though, right? …many vegetables rank high with these.

Well, kale’s special.  It actually supports our cells’ complete detoxifying process.  Our cells are bombarded with toxins each day.  When they are overloaded and need to detox, they undergo a 2-step process:  Phase 1 and Phase 2 detoxification (I’m thinking the same thing…these phase names are kind of a let-down).  Kale is unique in that its glucosinolates, antioxidants that contain sulfur and nitrogen, make compounds that support both phases of detoxification.

Let’s see Fritos do that!

While I think the body is a very capable, incredible machine that deals well with most everything we throw at it, it is certainly a great idea to give it an edge whenever we can.  We live in a toxic world…so, load up on foods that help it your body fight its foes (cue Superman theme song again).  Kale chips – can’t eat just one!

Fuel Your Ride.  Nourish Your Body.

Tags: Cycling Snacks, Kale Chips Recipe