Not Your SAD Potato Chips

As an alternative to potato chips, I tried making different vegetable chips in the dehydrator.

First up: Zucchini Chips

I sliced up zucchini using a mandoline and put them in plain into the dehydrator. Incredibly easy! It took all of 10 minutes from start to finish for 4 zucchinis and 6 trays worth (about 6 small snack bags). They don't need any flavoring because when dried, they have a naturally salty taste.

I put these in before going to sleep and let the dehydrator run overnight. By morning, they were dried, crispy, and yummy! It's no potato chip but it's a nice alternative. At least I can eat them guilt-free. :)

Next up: Kale Chips

I've made kale chips before using the oven, but this one from BeStrixed using a curry-flavored sauce intrigued me. It was a little more involved since the dressing had to be made (10 minutes), plus the kale had to be prepped (washed, de-stemed, chopped) (10 minutes), and then dressed (5 minutes). 10 + 10 + 5 = 25 minutes of prep time.

My dressing came out fairly thick and I didn't have a large enough container to mix the entire 12 ounces of kale with it, so I ended up mixing the dressing with my hands in batches of kale, which is probably why it took longer.

These were messier in the dehydrator and I did these overnight again (they were ready by morning). They were delicious! Better than a greasy, overly-salted potato chip! And a great way to get in some extra greens...

Notes: I couldn't find dino kale at the market that day and ended up using regular curly kale... which seemed to make the dressing a bit harder to cover - all those curls! I also found the resulting "chip" quite delicate and since dino kale leaves are typically thicker, they probably would hold up better.

I also ended up with a bit more dressing than kale when I was finished, so I bought some collards to try instead of the kale since the leaves tend to be thicker. Still delicious!