My mom is an excellent cook but there were times in my life I would think that maybe she wasn’t so much. Like when she would make liver and onions. Or how about white sandwich bread with white hamburger gravy poured over it? I want to gag just thinking about it.
We lived in a house where choosing something else for dinner was not an option. If it was on the table you were expected to eat it, and that was that.
Our house is the same way. I’m not a short order cook and we have a rule where you have to at least take a bite of everything on your plate. With four kids sitting around the table, you can imagine we’ve had our fair share of resistance to eating some of the things I cook.
I was ready for the pouts and whines the other day when I placed a bowl of Kale Chips on the table. My friend Aggie raves about Kale Chips quite often and then Michelle published a post on her blog about them. With all the good things I’ve heard about Kale Chips and how even the most vegetable resistant kids love them, I thought I’d give them a try.
Let me end this blog post by saying this… 4 days later, Kale Chips have been baked each day. I love them, my husband loves them and the best yet… the kids love them. I’m so glad to know that my kids won’t be blogging about the nasty green things their mom used to make them eat. Kale Chips, in this household, have been a hit!
What is a food your parents cooked that you dreaded seeing on the dinner table as a kid?
Recipe: Oven Baked Kale Chips (from What’s Cooking with Kids)
- Bunch of kale
- Olive oil
- Salt, to taste
- Cracked black pepper (our addition but not required)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Hold the thick stem of each kale leaf with one hand. Pinch the base with the fingers of the other hand and rub them up the stem – the leaves will tear right off!
- Put the kale pieces on a baking sheet lined with a silpat (a silicone baking mat) or with parchment paper.
- Pour on a little olive oil and toss with clean hands. Sprinkle with salt (and pepper if your kids like that…)
- Make sure they are in a single layer on the baking sheet sheet.
- Bake at 350 for 12-14 minutes or until crisp.
You can find more great, kid friendly recipes like this in Michelle’s new cookbook, The Whole Family Cookbook. Make sure to check it out!
Reader Interactions
Comments
Robyn | Add a Pinch says I’ve heard so many people talking about loving kale chips lately that I really should try them.
- Gaby says
I am obsessed with Kale Chips!!! My kids at work love them too – nothing better than seeing a 9 year old scarfing down kale chips 🙂
- kathy wills says
My mother is an amazing cook and was able to put a meal together for 5 under the poorest $$$ conditions (I like to think I have inherited this trait). But she can not even today make spaghetti that is edible, but it has to be the pea soup we endured. I get a shiver down my spine just thinking about it. My portion in particular was bad cause it was loaded with salty tears….Since my father passed away when I was 18 the one question I forgot to ask the psychic that one time he showed up was “why he tortured me by insisting I ate the damn stuff”
- kathy wills says
Sorry the response above was based on your twitter question
This is a fun post, Kristen – we have all been there. My kids still roll their eyes at me during dinner sometimes, because I won’t short order cook, either. I am thrilled that you like the kale chips. Sometimes I think I talk about them too much – but when it helps families eat a serious super-food, it doesn’t seem so horrible! Yay for healthy foods the whole family loves!
ps. to answer your question – I was never a fan of beets, but luckily, my dad didn’t like them either, so they weren’t served often.- Nancy@acommunaltable says
It truly is the best feeling when you make a vegetable dish and your kids like it!!!
Hmm… what food did I have to eat growing up that I didn’t like? Rutabaga’s!! Fortunately for me, I now like them!!!
- Cookbook Queen says
My mom made chicken livers once and I almost died. I was five but will never forget the taste. GAG.
I will have to try these Kale chips!!
We couldn’t find any kale at the grocery store this weekend. I think these kale chips are catching on!
- Julia says
That’s cool to see you can make them with curly kale. I had made them with the Tuscan Kale, which was excellent, but these look fun too!
- Kitten with a Whisk says
I’m with Robyn….it seems everyone has been raving about these. I’ll have to put kale on my list!
- Caroline says
I have yet to try these, but my mom loves them! I am going to have to put these on my short-list (especially if it’ll get my hubby to like kale!)
I love those kale chips…..my son BEGS for kale now. And that is crazy.
See AlsoBest Versatile Polenta Recipe: Creamy, Fried or Grilled - Cultured TableCauliflower Cranberry Superfood Salad | Healthy Recipe50 Vegan Christmas Dinner Recipes That ImpressCharred Carrots With Orange and Balsamic RecipeI used to DREAD when my mom made beef stew….now, I would LOVE to have a bog bowl of it!
- Estela @ Weekly Bite says
I love kale chips! I feel so healthy when I eat them 🙂
- *Just Fran* says
It was many years into adulthood before I would eat a hamburger. My mother cooked them into little charred hockey pucks, and I gagged at the thought. Thankfully, I have since become acquainted with how good a properly cooked burger can be.
As for Kale Chips. YUM! Who would have thought they would be so good? My Hubs will devour a tray of them in less time than it takes to make them.
- Aggie says
yay for kale chips! I still can’t believe my kids love them. They really are such a treat…we love to have them with our burgers 🙂
So glad you tried them and everyone liked them!!
Brussel sprouts. I know, I know… I really should learn to like them, but it’s a mental thing.
- Kim (Feed Me, Seymour) says
I’ve been hearing great things about kale chips all over the place! If your kids wolfed them down, then I must try them! I can never get my daughter to try new things but these sound like a winner.
- Colette says
I wasn’t really picky as a kid- the only thing I can remember dreading were yams on Thanksgiving day…and I don’t know why! I love them now 🙂
I am such a fan of kale chips… been making them a lot over the past year. So simple, flavorful… and healthy! 🙂
- Aimee @ Simple Bites says
I’ve never had kale chips! Can we still be friends? 😉
- Esi says
I love kale chips! I just put them on pizza this weekend.
- Rhonda says
I have some kale in my fridge that I forgot to add to my 15 bean soup, hmmm, I’m thinking kale chips now. BTW, it was peas for me…yuk! Now I realized it was because they were canned. Once I had my first taste of fresh/frozen peas, it was a different story.
- Les in NE says
I’ve been hearing about baked kale chips for at least a year now, but haven’t been brave enough to try them. If your kids love ’em, I should suck it up and try them, too. Right?
My most dreaded childhood meal? Creamed tuna on toast. Ugh. It wasn’t even the good tuna (albacore), but the stuff that looks gray right out of the can. Ugh.
We love kale chips over here too. Really the only kind of ship I eat these days. Can you believe how healthy they are??!! love!
- Food on the Table says
Now there’s a kind of chip I won’t feel bad eating by the handful! Thanks for sharing the recipe.
To answer your question, the dishes I always dreaded when I was a kid were my mom’s creative uses of leftovers. She was, er, resourceful, to say the least!
I love Kale chips! It’s amazing how good and crispy it gets when you bake it. It really cures a salty food craving.
- Maria says
I still haven’t tried kale chips, what is wrong with me? I must make these!
- Tickled Red says
That’s the news I was looking for today 🙂 I’m getting ready to try them out on my boys and my teenage sister this week while we are staying at my dad’s house while he is on the road. Hopefully my brood will be as receptive {fingers crossed}
- Steve @ HPD says
You just solved my snack food dilemma for movie night!
- El says
This recipe looks good. It’s totally new to me so I’m looking forward to trying it. I was pretty limited in what I ate as a kid so I’d have to say fish. The only thing I’d eat was swordfish, and of course that was a bit too expensive for family dinner at that point in time. I still love it though!
Love kale chips, Kristen! Isn’t it so true when you introduce a new food to your children sometimes they can surprise you by loving it. So nice when it happens to be something healthy like these kale chips.
What a great and creative recipe! I need to try these and see if they can curb my otherwise unhealthy chip craving! I bet they taste incredible.
- Barbara says
My mother wouldn’t have even known what kale was!
This looks delish! - SMITH BITES says
liver and onions, fish or stuffed green peppers . . . those were the times i’d be asking my friends if i could come to their house for dinner! kale chips rawk!
- Lynn says
I’m so glad you posted this. I have a bunch of kale in the refrigerator that I’ve been trying to think what to do with it.
Cold beef tongue was my most dreaded meal. Gag.
- merry jennifer says
Somehow, I still have never tried kale chips. Or kale for that matter. What is wrong with me?
The foods I dreaded seeing on the dinner table growing up were stewed tomatoes, brussels sprouts, beets, and cooked carrots. With the exception of the carrots, I’ve made peace with the others – and love them, actually. Cooked carrots? Never.
- Sophia says
Just tried kale chips for the first time recently, and I loved them! Still need to try making my own though! These look so delicious! Great job!
- Healthy Snacks says
I never thought to add pepper to my kale chips. That’s a great idea!
Lately I’ve been cheating and using garlic salt since I’m not a big fan of the taste of kale (it’s a bit too green-tasting for me, if that makes sense), but pepper sounds fantastic too.
- Amy @ A Little Nosh says
I didn’t LOVE the batch I made, but my son ate them. Maybe I should try it again…
- The Teacher Cooks says
Truly, there was nothing that my mother cooked that was not wonderful to me! I cannot wait to try these kale chips. They have been everywhere blogs, magazines and the food network. It is a must do now after you have raved about them.
- pity says
i am going to have to try this, it looks great and very good for you, cheers from london
My mom was the same way; if I didn’t like what she cooked for dinner, then I would go hungry. Kale chips are so tasty! I love how crunchy/crumbly they are.
- Wenderly says
How did I miss you killer kale chips? They are beautiful! I’ve never made them, but it seems high time that I do!
I ate something like this at an Indian restaurant in DC but it was spinach. I had no idea how they did it but it was crispy and light as feathers. Literally melted in your mouth. I’d be happy if the kale chips are half as good. Sounds like a good way to get my other family members to enjoy their greens.
- Bree says
Rasika’s! It’s sooo good, Zatinya’s has a similar dish but they’re brussel sprouts.
Gorgeous, my friend… Just gorgeous. You captured the wonderful texture of the kale beautifully.
- emiglia says
I tried kale chips for the first time about a year ago, and I was surprised at how much I loved them, especially since I don’t love kale cooked.
Oh, and that rule you guys have? I’m the oldest of four… I remember that rule 🙂
- lyndsay says
KALE CHIPS!
i am a kale monster so i am surprised i haven’t made this yet. just bookmarked this page for future reference!
thanks!! ^__^
PS your blog is lovely… great photos… !
- Jaime says
can you make these without any oil?
They are super tasty! You should try them with a bit of apple cider vinegar mixed in before baking (about 1 tbsp/bunch of kale) deeelicious!
- sheelbeel says
I’m going to make these for my family tonight for the first time. Can’t wait to see the results!
- Laura says
Yep, the Junk Food Junkies that live in my house gobbled em up too! SHOCKED!
- laura says
What’s the best way to store them so they don’t get soggy? If I save them for thenext day. they get all mushy.
- Kristen says
Hi Laura –
Great question. Honestly, they’ve never lasted long enough for me to worry about storing. I read this article though that says making sure they are really dry before roasting is the key and they are best stored in a brown paper bag. Hope that helps! If you try it, let me know!
http://food52.com/hotline/708-q-do-kale-chips-store-well-i-usually-eat-them-right-away-but-i-d-like-to-make-a-big-batch-for-the
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Recipe: Oven Baked Kale Chips – Kid Friendly Veggie Recipe
