Kale Chips - Spicy Cheese and Spiced Chocolate

I love kale chips. As much as I don’t like spending $7 on a single snack (because let’s be honest here: you never eat just “one serving” when you have an open bag of kale chips…), I will happily purchase them once in a while as a vegan-cheesy indulgence.

I recently, finally, bought a dehydrator. My main desire with this amazing kitchen tool was to make dried bananas and kale chips. Well, I’ve made more than enough bananas, but have yet to make kale chips. Until now.

I have few regrets in life, but one regret is this: I did not make enough kale chips.

These were initial “test batches”, and I am so amazed with how they turned out that I’m going to share the recipe before making a second batch. (I like to make something a few times before posting it.)

This post has a bonus: two recipes in one!

They’re both so tasty, that they need to be in the same post – otherwise, a super massive black hole might form between the two separate posts. I wish I was joking. It happens with delicious recipes.

Okay, maybe I’m getting a bit carried away. I should stop, and just give you the recipes already!

So here you go, kind reader of this post. A gift of seasoned awesomeness. Enjoy!

Spicy Cheesy Kale Chips

Ingredients:

• Kale (a bunch of leaves, taken off of the stems. Not too big, not too small… Just right; bite sized. I used about 10 large leaves of kale for this batch.)
• ½ cup raw cashews, soaked for about 20 minutes
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• Juice from ½ a small-medium sized lemon (around 2-3 tbsp)
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast (hello, B-12)
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tbsp dried red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp sea salt (you can add more or less if you like, totally your call)

Method:

• Prepare your dehydrator trays with parchment paper. Trust me on this, you won’t want to put them on the bare trays…
• Mix all ingredients (except for the kale) in a blender/food processor until you have a sauce. You can keep it a bit chunky if you like, because cashew pieces are always tasty), and  pour into a bowl.
• Take the pieces of kale, one at a time, and dip them in the bowl. Use your hands, and get messy… Rub the sauce all over the kale, and make sure it’s covered. Squeeze off some of the sauce so the kale isn’t a mushy pile of sauce, and place it on the lined dehydrator tray.
• Do this until you’ve dipped all of the kale in sauce, and then set your dehydrator to anywhere from 110 – 140. (Some people are really strict with raw food temperatures. Keeping the temperature at 140 does not mean that the food will reach that temperature; however, if you are strict – just keep the temperature at what you feel comfortable with. You will have to dehydrate the kale for a longer period of time though. I kept mine at 140.)
• Let the kale rest at this temperature overnight. I had mine going for about 8 hours at 140. You don’t really need to flip the leaves over at any point, but give them a minute or two to settle after you’ve turned off the dehydrator.
• Now, you can eat them. And eat them you will! Enjoy!

Spiced Chocolate Kale Chips

Ingredients:

• Kale (a bunch of leaves, taken off of the stems. Not too big, not too small… Just right; bite sized. I used about 10 large leaves of kale for this batch.)
• ½ cup raw cashews, soaked for about 20 minutes
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• ¼ cup coconut water
• 2 tbsp cacao powder
• 6 pitted dates
• 1 tbsp raw agave nectar (optional if you want it sweeter. Omit if you want a darker chocolate taste)
• 1-2 tsp ground cinnamon (I eyeballed it here…)
• Pinch of nutmeg
• 1 tsp ground allspice (trust me, this works well…)
• Optional: sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt after placed on the dehydrator tray for some salted chocolate kale chip flavour!

Method:

• See above method for Spicy Cheesy Kale Chips, because it’s the same – and there’s no sense in writing it out again…
• You probably won’t use all of the chocolate sauce. Keep the extra sauce in a glass jar, and store in the fridge. It turns to a nice texture that you can later use to make some spiced cacao truffles! (*hint* check back soon for that recipe… *hint* *cough*)
• Enjoy! 

Green Kale - cleaned and ready to go!

Spicy Cheesy vegan sauce

Spicy Cheesy Kale Chips - taking a rest

Spiced Chocolate Kale Chips - taking a rest

Finished! Spicy Cheesy Kale Chips - delicious... So light and crispy...

Cute little chocolate covered kale chips... Lightly spiced... Decadent... Delicious... I love you chocolate kale chips.

Blueberry Iron Kick Smoothie

Here is a smoothie that’s full of a bunch of goodness!

My favourite part of this one is that it provides a couple of servings of iron if you happen to be lacking it.

Being a vegan means you’re missing out on one major iron source (red meat), but it doesn’t mean that there aren’t a bunch of other sources where you can get some.

Here’sa great source of info on plant-based sources of iron, and tips for helpingiron absorption. 

A single serving of spirulina has 5mg of iron (1 tsp), and this smoothie has 2 tsp. According to the chart on the above mentioned link, females aged 19-50 require 18mg per day, so you can either put a whole day’s worth in here, or use alternate sources, or split up servings throughout the day. (Check the link to see what your recommended daily intake of iron is listed as.)

So now, I’ll give you my smoothie recipe!

Blueberry Iron Kick Smoothie

Ingredients:

• ¾ cup frozen blueberries
• 1 cup coconut water
• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
• 2 tsp spirulina
• 6 leaves of kale
• ½ banana
• 1 tsp maca

Method:

• Blend, and drink!

Mango Creamsicle Smoothie

I’ve had a bit of a delay with posting recipes lately, as it seems there aren’t enough hours in a 24 hour day anymore. I’m not sure how this happens, but either way – I’m going to upload some posts!

Here’s a quick and tasty smoothie recipe!

Mango Creamsicle Smoothie

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup frozen mango
• 1 cup coconut water
• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
• 1 tsp maca (you can omit if you like, I add it in sometimes for an energy boost)

Method:

• Blend and drink!

Flax, Walnut and Coconut Crusted Portobello Mushroom Strips

One of the foods that I used to cook the most often was chicken. My favourite way to prepare it was to bread it (not just with bread crumbs), and cook it on the frying pan. Obviously I won’t eat chicken anymore, but I’ve missed that type of food in my meals. I know that there are so many awesome fake-meat options out there for vegans, but I’m not a fan of soy products (lovely allergic reactions), and I also don’t like all of the chemicals and additives that are put in most of those foods. I’ve come up with great ways to mimic meatloaf (a childhood favourite), and burgers, but still no chicken breast strips. Last night, I came closer to this than I ever have in my life – and the flavour, well it’s pretty darn good!

These aren’t exactly like chicken breast strips, but they definitely satisfy that craving, especially with the right combination of spices! I’ll try these again with different combinations of spice, but for now – I’ll share with you all what I put together.

Flax, Walnut & Coconut Crusted Portobello Mushroom Strips

Ingredients:

• Sliced Portobello mushrooms (I made about 9 slices with this recipe)
• Flax “egg” (1 tbsp ground flaxseed, 3 tbsp warm water – in a bowl, stir, and set aside for at least 5 minutes)

Breading Ingredients:

• ¼ cup ground flaxseed
• ¼ cup walnuts, crushed into small pieces
• 2 tbsp shredded coconut
• 2 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp sea salt

Method:

• Combine all breading ingredients in a shallow bowl/dish
• Coat the first mushroom slice with some flax “egg”. You don’t need to completely cover the mushroom, but just make sure the whole thing is wet. Place the mushroom in the dish of breading ingredients, and use your hands to cover the top with the mixture, Flip it over, and do the same to the other side. Handle the mushroom carefully, as  you want to make sure the mixture stays on. Set the mushroom aside, lightly, onto another dish, and repeat this until you’ve used all of the mushroom slices.
• Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium to medium-high heat, and place the first few mushroom slices on the pan. If you need to use oil, put some coconut oil on the pan.
• Cook the mushroom on the first side for about 3 minutes, then flip over and cook for another 3 minutes. These times are approximate, and you should use your judgment for this. If you notice it’s starting to burn, take it off of the pan. If you’ve cooked it for a few minutes on each side and you don’t feel that the breading looks cooked, keep it on longer. Think of this as the same thing as cooking chicken strips – a few minutes each side or until cooked through.
• Once cooked, set aside on a dish, and repeat this for the remaining mushroom strips.
• Once the mushrooms are cooked, serve alongside a stir fry, or whatever other side dish you like! 
• For dinner, I made Richard and I a simple coconut-peanut stir fry.

Coconut Peanut Stir Fry

Ingredients:

• Bean Sprouts
• Whatever vegetables you like – I just used green bell peppers and red onion this time around
• Noodle of choice – I used whole wheat penne pasta, but have used rice noodles in the past as well. Pre-cooked before putting them into the stir fry!
• Peanut butter (about 2-3 tbsp)
• Creamed coconut – or coconut butter (about 2-3 tbsp)
• Coconut oil (about 1 tbsp)
• Coconut water  (about ¼ cup)
• Spices – I stick with cayenne pepper and paprika for this, simple and tasty!

Method:

• Melt the oil on your frying pan over medium to medium-high heat
• Add the vegetables (green pepper and onion) to the pan, and cook for a minute or two
• Add half of the bean sprouts you plan to use (they will shrink in size)
• After another minute, add the rest of the bean sprouts
• Add in all of the other ingredients except the pasta, and stir until a sauce forms in with the vegetables
• After a sauce has formed (it may take a minute or two), add in the pasta and stir everything together. At this point, turn down the heat to low-medium. You don’t want to burn the pasta!
• Take a taste! If you want more spice, add it!
• Once you’re happy with the flavour, serve alongside the Flax, Walnut & Coconut Crusted Portobello Mushroom strips, or whatever else you’ve made, and enjoy! 

Inside view of the mushroom strips

Mushroom Strips with Coconut Peanut Stir Fry