Kale Chips

I have to apologize for my complete absence from the blogosphere! I haven't disappeared completely! Just haven't had time to update.

The husband and I are going to this amazing event this weekend for my work. Every year the company I work for (it's a non-profit) has this giant gala sponsored by Safeway as a fundraiser. It's normally $1100 a PLATE!! But all of our employees get to go for free! It's black tie, so we get to get all dressed up and fancy, wear a formal gown, and act like real grown ups for the night. It's a super fun event, and I can't wait to go on Saturday.

Of course that means I have to fit into that fancy gown! Which means a little diet friendly foods were in order! :) No baked goods and pies, cakes, or yummy sweets. But it doesn't mean I haven't been eating good food. Just good for you food!

That's where the kale chips come in. Saw this idea in an email newsletter I get from self.com, but it didn't include a recipe, so I just experimented a little, and they came out sooo yummy. I'm sure there are probably a million other ways to make this, so if you have ever done it, or have some suggestions, let me know.

These taste like crispy little potato chips - or maybe kind of like those veggie chips you can get from whole foods, but you made it yourself, for a whole lot cheaper! Best way to describe them: Really crunchy, a little bit of a tangy taste to them, yummy! :)

What's your go-to food when you are watching what you eat? With summer right around the corner, I need some ideas! :)

Kale Chips (By: Me)

Ingredients:

1 bunch kale - freshly washed and dried

olive oil

sea salt (I used my coveted, only use for special occasions because it's $13 a bottle fleur-de-sel sea salt!)

Directions:

1. Peel kale away from hard inner vein into chip sized pieces.

2. Lay dried pieces on baking sheet lined with silpat or parchment paper.

3. Drizzle with olive oil.

4. Bake chips in an oven heated to 350 degrees for 12-25 minutes, (I know this is a very wide range of time, but every oven will cook differently, chips should be crisp like potato chips) turning over gently with tongs in the middle of cooking.

5. Salt chips to desired taste with sea salt.

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Coffee Addicts

My husband and I are coffee junkies.

We might even be coffee snobs. We only like certain types of coffee! We definitely prefer Peet's Coffee to Starbucks, and you can only guess how we feel about Folger's or Maxwell House. BLECK!

We like our latte's - preferably with soy milk (splenda for him, cocoa powder on top for me) please and thank you!

Every morning, as we're getting ready, he'll always ask me, "do you want coffee?" I'm not even sure why he asks anymore, because the answer is most certainly, "yes". We have our own travel coffee mugs for each of us (I just happened to steal the good one because it doesn't fit into his cup holder. YES!), and each morning we fill it to go. But the sad thing is, this definitely isn't the only coffee we drink during the day. He makes more coffee at work (Peet's of course), and I often make coffee at my office or will stop throughout the day (I drive around a lot for my job) and grab a cup of brewed coffee at this coffee shop or that one, and we will even make it after dinner around 3 of 5 nights of the work week. We LOVE our coffee.

I saw this recipe for Dark Chocolate Biscotti, and immediately saw another excuse to drink some more coffee! :)

This is definitely a feel better about yourself recipe - whole wheat flour, flax seed, dark chocolate (antioxidants and flavonoids of course), and almonds make it a much better alternative! It really taste's yummy too, but what doesn't when you get to eat it with coffee!!!

Here are the stats:

Serving Size - 1 biscotti

Calories - 94 Carbs - 14.4g

Fat - 3.5g Chol - 7 mg

Protein - 2.7g Sodium - 49 mg.

Deep Dark Chocolate Biscotti (From Cooking Light)

Ingredients:

2 cups whole wheat flour

2 Tbs. flaxseed

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup dark brown sugar

2 large egg whites

1 large egg

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 bar hershey's special dark chocolate bar (you can also use dark chocolate chips, but I couldn't find them)

3/4 cup unsalted almonds

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 3 ingredients in a bowl, stirring with a whisk.

3. Combine granulated sugar and next 3 ingredients in a bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed 2 minutes. Add vanilla, mix well.

4. Add flour mixture to egg mixture, stir until combined.

5. Chop Hershey's bar in food processor or blender.

6. Fold in chocolate and almonds.

7. Divide dough into 3 equal portions. Roll each portion into a 6-inch long roll. Arrange rolls 3 inches apart on a baking sheet lined with silpat or parchment paper. Pat to a 1-inch thickness. Bake at 350 degrees for 28 minutes or until firm.

8. Remove rolls from baking sheet; cool 10 minutes on a wire rack.

9. Cut rolls diagonally into 30 (1/2-inch) slices. Place cut sides down, on baking sheet.

10. Reduce oven temp to 325 degrees; bake 7 minutes. Turn cookies over, bake 7 more minutes. (cookies will be slightly soft in center but will harden as they cool).

11. Remove from baking sheet; cool on wire rack. YIELD: 2 1/2 dozen

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