Posted July 3rd, 2012
by Geanna, Working Owner
Snacks are great, aren’t they? I think it’s a pretty well-known fact that our body appreciates having small meals here and there throughout the day instead of gorging on one big calorie fest every 5 hours. I know my body certainly enjoys that extra fuel throughout the day, especially when I’m at work or having a particularly active day. However, making snacks that are easy and convenient AND tasty can be more than a little cumbersome.
Enter: the ever-delicious and nutritious kale chip. Today I’m specifically referring to
The Kale Company‘s kale chips, made locally right here in Portland. I picked these chips up because a) I like snacks, like I said before, and b) I like kale chips but don’t care for the time it takes to make them at home. These chips looked like the perfect solution.
The Kale Company is relatively new, and offers a few different tasty sounding varieties, such as Black Truffle Rosemary and Truffle Almond Date. I tried the Thai-Grrr Crunch, which are made with organic kale, organic pumpkin seed, organic cashews, Thai spices, organic garlic, organic lemon juice, nutritional yeast, and sea salt. These kale chips are raw, gluten-free, and vegan, and perfect for an after-lunch snack. They are filling and flavorful, and the package is large enough that you can enjoy the snack with friends.
These kale chips are available at ACG for $6.49 for a 2.2 ounce container.
Tags: appetizers, kale, snack, vegan, vegetarian
Posted in Announcements, Food and Drink, Spotlight
Posted May 23rd, 2012
by Jim, Working Owner
Sometimes the most creative and fun aspect of a new diet is finding substitutes for stuff you’re trying to cut out. Like chips. Both potato and corn are off-the-list for the Primal or Paleo lifestyle. A lot of people worry about the fat in these snacks, but we worry about the main ingredients.
Both corn and potato eventually digest into glucose, which in most of us, causes a release of insulin which takes this sugar and converts it into fat! There are a lot of reasons to avoid this insulin spike, the fat can obviously lead to excess weight gain, but also to insulin insensitivity and type 2 diabetes. The only way to avoid it is to avoid eating the excessive amounts of carbs that grains and tubers contain.
But what if we want too much on something salty and crunchy? Well, my wife found this great recipe, which was just an aside in a Jacques Pépin Youtube video. Kale chips! I’ve been experimenting ever since, so here’s what I’ve learned.
Find the broadest leaf kale you can find. The dino kale we’ve had recently in the produce section at Alberta Co-op is perfect. Just select a bunch with the least amount of stalk.
Remove as much stalk as possible while leaving as much as the leaf in-tact as possible. The stalks have a lot of moisture, so if there’s too much stalk or veins they will not dry out properly.
Brush the leave with olive oil and sprinkle with a bit of salt.
Then bake in a low (200 – 250 degree F) oven on a baking rack for about 25 minutes or so. When they darken and scrunch up a bit, they get crispy and crunchy and delicious.
Mix it up by adding your favorite spices, like chili powder or cumin, to the olive oil.
It makes a great side or snack, and it’s a super way to get kids to eat some greens.
Working Owner Jim Prescott is a Portland based musician and writer. Email him at email hidden; JavaScript is required
Tags: gluten-free, kale, paleo, sustainablity, vegetables
Posted in Announcements, Food and Drink, General Information, Recipes, Wellness
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