I wanted to warn you of my absence last week, but I was surprising my family, so I didn't want them to know I was coming for a longer visit than planned. We had camping plans for the weekend, but I ended up getting there early to steal a few extra days.

What an incredibly relaxing vacation it was! Spending a couple days on the shores of Lake Superior with no obligations will do that to you. Plus, it didn't hurt that I stole a few moments to myself in a hammock! What is it about those things?

Unfortunately the water was so frigid that I only dunked twice and that was because my brothers and sisters were starting to doubt my Finnish-ness. I think they forget that I haven't live there in almost 10 years, so I'm no longer used to swimming in 46 degree water. At least it felt like 46.

The only bad part about vacation is the tendency I have to eat junk food. Fortunately, these kale chips are the perfect remedy. 

We all know we should eat more dark, leafy greens, but the truth is, they can be a little hard to choke down. In fact, my nutrition professor in chiropractic school was a huge fan of kale in particular. And he knew his stuff.

These seasoned kale chips are actually worth your time, and they don't take much. If you've had kale chips seasoned with salt and pepper, you know that they tend to be bitter, but these are heavily seasoned in all the right ways.

The bonus is that the kale I buy comes in huge bags for about $2. I've seen them in about every grocery store, including Wal-Mart.

Besides the fact that they taste incredible, my daughter doesn't stop eating them until they're gone. This whole batch never lasts more than a few hours.




Kale Chips
Yield: about 4 cups


3/4 cups tahini
1/4 cup Bragg's liquid aminos
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup water
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
Juice from 1/2 lemon
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon dried basil
16 ounces kale greens, thick stems removed (I buy them in large bags for about $2)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F and line a large baking sheet with a baking mat or parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together all ingredients but the kale until smooth.

Fill the bowl with kale (will be about 1/3 of the kale) and massage it into the other ingredients with your hands until the kale wilts and shrinks. Continue adding kale and massaging until all the kale is used.

Spread in a single layer on the prepared pan (about half will fit on the pan at a time) and bake for 15 minutes. Carefully flip the kale pieces and bake another 10 minutes. The kale should be dried and crispy, but not blackened.

Transfer to a container and bake the remainder of the kale.