Kale Chips Recipe

“CHEESY” KALE CHIPS 
(vegan, no dairy)

 Looking for healthier snacks, I've become addicted to those great Kale Chips you can buy at the health food store.  

These taste just like them, and are so much cheaper and fresher!  Super-easy to make with a food processor  and a dehydrator, but you can also dehydrate them in your oven. 

1 large bunch of  kale
1 cup cashews, (soaked 2 hours)
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
3-4 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 Tablespoon agave (optional)
2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 teaspoon Himalayan sea salt

Rinse the kale and dry between paper towels. Remove the stems and tear into bite size pieces. Let the kale air out as much as possible before coating. Blend the ingredients for the cheesy seasoning in a food processor or Vita-Mix until smooth. Transfer kale and seasoning to a large bowl and mix well using your hands to ensure the leaves are well coated. Place the kale on dehydrator trays.  Dehydrate at 118 degrees or in your oven at the lowest temp, with the door a few inches open, for 8 hours or until coating is dry.  Slide onto mesh screens and dehydrate until totally crispy. 

Keeping them Crunchy
Take a small fabric bag, or small piece of cotton cloth and fill it with uncooked rice, tying up with string.  Place it in an airtight glass container or ziploc bag.  The rice soaks up any extra moisture, keeping your kale chips crunchy for days!

How to Avoid Eating GMO’s

Terri Mykland  May 17, 2013

These days, I hear a people saying things like, “oh, you know, all food is GMO (genetically modified), there’s no way to avoid it”.  I wanted to let people know that it is actually possible and not that hard to avoid most GMO food in your diet.  Knowledge is power, we are in charge of what we put in our mouths, and Monsanto didn’t win the last presidential election, so let’s take back our food, OK?

This may seem obvious, but the main tip I have for you is:

WHEN IN DOUBT, BUY ORGANIC

Organic foods in the US are not GMO.  When you are buying some of the specific foods listed below, please also read labels and prefer products that specifically say they are non-GMO.  More foods are becoming non-GMO certified, which is very helpful to consumers.

The first step is to cut as many processed foods as possible from your diet.  This is also one of the greatest things you can do for your health, and will save you money.  Simplify, simplify!  Look for foods as close to nature as you can get them.   Many hidden junk and GMO ingredients hide in processed foods, and it’s hard to know what you’re really eating.  

Here are some of the main areas to work on in your diet:

• Eliminate boxed meals, breakfast cereals, premade sauces and snacks. You'll often find that it's very easy to make your own or find a less-processed alternative you like just as much!
• Cut down on protein shakes and food bars, and make these a last resort, not a daily part of your diet
• Make your own salad dressing.
• Cook oatmeal or eggs for breakfast, a big salad with protein for lunch, and organic/grassfed meats and vegetables for dinner.
• Do not eat anything that contains high fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners or is labeled "low fat" – these kinds of processed foods very often contain GMO's, and are unhealthy too! 
• You’ll find, as you simplify what goes in your mouth, that it’s quite easy to flavor your food with spices   and healthy fats, or make your own sauces.  It will taste delicious, you’ll be healthier, and you'll know exactly what you're putting into your body!

Once the processed foods are at a minimum, here’s the scoop on where you'll find the majority of common GMO's:  

WHEAT, RICE, CORN and SOY

Almost all of the conventionally-grown wheat, rice, corn and soy in the United States is GMO.  This accounts for over 90% of GMO ingredients in our food.  Organically grown wheat, rice, corn and soy are not GMO.   So if you eat foods containing wheat, rice, corn or soy, make sure it’s organic.

My first suggestion to you is to eliminate wheat from your diet entirely.  The many reasons for this suggestion must wait for another article -- read the book Wheat Belly if you are curious. 

A major place that wheat, rice, corn and soy are often found is snack foods.  Please scrutinize your snack foods, and replace the junky ones with organic equivalents.  Yes, that’s right, no more Dorito’s – but there are good alternatives - keep looking!   The main changes I’ve made in my own snacking are to buy only organic tortilla chips and rice chips.  That’s not so hard!  Soy is not a really healthy food, so I actually suggest phasing it out of your diet, other than soy sauce.  One other GMO you might come across is sugar from beets.  

Some good snacking strategies, in order of best to worst, are:  

1. Find simple foods to snack on (carrot and celery sticks in the fridge, olives, cooked potatoes, hard boiled eggs, etc.).  Snacks with a little protein will keep you satisfied longer than empty carbs.

2. Discover ways to make your own.  You'll find that if you google just about any snack food and the word "recipe", someone has come up with a way to make your own homemade version.

SNACK RECIPE: Homemade Kale Chips

3. Buy organic snack foods.  These are still processed, but you can generally assume that the people that made them did not use GMO ingredients and had more care for your health than the ones who made your conventional snacks.  Buying organic does not mean you get to skip reading the label, though.  Look for short ingredient lists that you can pronounce!
 

CHECK THE OIL!

Another hidden area where GMO’s can be found is in cooking oils.  Oils such as canola, corn, soybean and cottonseed are almost all GMO, and even if they’re organic, they are not healthy oils.  Please use organic olive oil, coconut oil, sesame oil and avocado oil for your cooking and salad needs.  You can read up on the best ways to use each of these online.

As you can see, avoiding GMO’s takes being conscious of what you put in your mouth, but it is not exactly rocket science.  Pay attention, and keep cleaning up your diet and you’ll be able to avoid eating food that’s been genetically messed with, and avoid eating the vast majority of GMO foods.  

FRUIT AND VEGGIES: The other 10% 

The other 10% of GMO is mostly found on the produce aisle.  Here’s how to work on that:  Get to know the stickers on your fruit and veggies.  Here’s how the codes on the stickers work:

•     Organic:               5 digits, starting with “9”
•     Conventional:    4 digits
•     GMO:                    5 digits, starting with “8”

To determine which fruit and veggies are most important to buy organic due to pesticide concerns, be sure to check out the Environmental Working Group’s Dirty Dozen, which is released every year on their website.  Apples, Strawberries, thin-skinned fruit, celery and potatoes are some important ones to always buy organic.  There’s a certain amount of common sense here: if a fruit or veggie has a thin skin, pesticides can often get in easier than if it has a thick one.  

FURTHER READING

Jeffrey Smith Interviews Dr. Stephanie Seneff about Glyphosphate

Extreme Toxicity of Roundup Destroys GM/Non-GM 'Substantial Equivalence' Argument

OTHER THINGS TO WATCH FOR

• Salmon – There’s talk about approving GMO salmon – ask at the counter when you buy salmon.  Please buy only wild caught, never farmed.
• Pineapple – GMO Rose strain, in the process of being approved.  Don't buy pink pineapple!
• Sugar Beets -- All U.S. grown sugar beets are now GMO.  Please watch for sugar from beet origins.  Again, when in doubt, buy organic.
• Roundup-Ready -- One of the prime reasons to avoid GMO's in the U.S. is Monsanto's Roundup pesticide.  "Roundup-Ready" crops represent multiple health dangers to humans.  The following "Roundup-Ready" crops are currently approved: corn, soybeans, canola, cotton, sugarbeets and alfalfa.  Many of these are fed to livestock, which is a major reason to buy organic meat.
• Ladies - This gets beyond food, but conventionally grown cotton, used in feminine products like tampons and menstrual pads, is GMO and may have health dangers.  In my opinion, it is worth it to buy organic tampons, since these are used internally.  The case for buying organic pads is less clear, but you might want to stay on the safe side.