Cheesy Kale and Zucchini Chips

Cheesy Kale & Zucchini chips

I made these beauties last night and it's everything in my power not to eat them all. If you can get a hold of the dinosaur kale aka Lacinato or Tuscan kale..use it instead. I think it has a much richer flavor. I added the zucchini for more texture and variety. I think the sky is the limit because the cheesy sauce is so delish. Oh and I plan on taking these babies to the movies with me.

1 large bunch of curly, green kale, (I use dinosaur kale) washed, large stems removed, torn into bite size pieces. 1 medium sized zucchini sliced into thin wheels.

COATING:
2 cups cashews, (soaked 2 hours)
1 Large red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
juice of 1 lemon
2 t. agave (optional..I didn't add this in)
2 T. nutritional yeast
 3/4 t. himalayan pink crystal salt (use more or less to taste)

Put coating ingredients in Vitamix. Blend until smooth. Using your hands, massage coating onto kale pieces getting it inside of curls*. I put it on thick which adds more crunch. Put on teflex sheets. Have your trays on the counter ready to fill then dehydrate at 105 overnight or until coating is dry.Keep an eye on these because mine dehydrated fairly quick.
* I had a little of the mix left over even after slathering it on really thick,  so its up to you if you want to add another veggie or a few more stalks of kale.

Kale Chips...

Are the bomb! love them little buggah's! I think I could eat them every day! Tomorrow I'm making raw burgers with the veggie pulp I froze from juicing. Here's the recipe I found off the internet if anyone is interested:

Healthy Raw Vegan Burgers That are Tasty

* 4 cups fresh or previously frozen vegetable pulp from juicing
* 1 cup raw walnuts, soaked, rinsed & drained
* 1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds, soaked, rinsed & drained
* 1/4 cup raw & shelled pumpkin seeds, soaked, rinsed & drained
* 1/2 onion, chopped
* 1/2 cup dehydrated tomatoes, soaked in 1/2 cup water until
soft
* 1 tablespoon organic non-distilled apple cider vinegar or non-pasteurized organic fermented soy sauce
* 1 teaspoon maple syrup
* 1 teaspoon sea salt
* 1 teaspoon marjoram
* 1/2 teaspoon red or white pepper
* 1/2 teaspoon dill
* 1/2 teaspoon thyme
* Pinch of cayenne or 1/2 jalapeno pepper, diced (optional)


Put all the ingredients into a food processor or a top quality blender and blend until smooth. Slowly add just a bit of water (1/4 cup at a time) if needed to blend easily.
Adjust spices to your liking.~
If, like some, you like it hot, add cayenne or half a jalapeno pepper. Do not use both as they are each different peppers and do not blend all that well on your palate.~~~~
Continue to blend until smooth and uniform in color. The tomatoes should allow your blend to be the same color as raw meat. Form into burger shapes about the size of a fast food burger. You ought to wind up with six burgers and one junior size, more or less.
Dehydrate until rare (thin crust), medium (mostly dried but pliable) or well (dry as a bone) done.Serve on a lettuce leaf or on raw bread, if you have some, surrounded by a few sliced tomatoes, onions, and a scattering of micro greens.If desired the "burgers" can be heated or even grilled slightly. Caution: cooking too fast and/or at too high heat will result in overly crunchy burgers and is not a healthy idea at any rate.

Yield:
About six adult servings and one kid-sized one.

Hot Diggity!

I was wondering what the heck I was going to do for food on this new plan of mine. It seemed a daunting task at best since I would no longer be able to grab  for a piece of bread and some cheese or chips or a cookie. I had to think a little more on a creative level. I decided to google raw foods to see what kinds of dishes looked appealing. To my surprise I was able to find a ton of recipes that all looked tantalizing. I still needed to sort through all those that seemed somewhat appealing to my taste buds. As I took a gander through all the different combination's I tried to imagine how it would taste on my palate which made it a lot easier to choose which recipes I would actually experiment with. I didn't want to keep anything requiring too many steps because I know my love for this plan would go down in a blaze of glory quicker than you could say 'lettuce' especially if there were too many ingredients involved. The amount of raw recipes out there is unbelievably awe inspiring; I had to pace myself. So for today, I have chosen recipes such as: Crunchy Taco, Mock Salmon Pate', Raw Veggie Burger along with various smoothies and dessert options. I really love the idea of drinking Green Juice almost everyday since I have had it before and know the benefits involved. If its mixed just right, it's one of the most wonderful drinks to have as part of the list. In the past, I have made raw Nori rolls, calzones and pizza made in the dehydrator and of course Kale Chips with dip. Its important to follow the directions to the letter or the dish might taste a little like...'I am so not making this again'.  I gathered at least 50 recipes today from various websites so I think I'm set for a while. I'll post picture slides as I try some of the newer recipes.