Kale Chips in 3 Easy Steps

OOooOOOhhhh my indulgence: Kale Chips.

TRUST ME…they are delicious! Even if you don’t care for kale or veggies, you gotta do yourself a favor and at least make these once.  You might surprise yourself and become a kale lover like myself.

Visit your local farmers market or store and buy fresh bunches of kale.  Then follow these SUPER easy steps to making an incredible snack to satisfy those craving for potato chips.

1.  Heat oven to 350. Wash and dry kale.  Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.

2.  Tear off large pieces of kale, discarding the stems and thick ribs.  Drizzle the kale pieces on the baking sheet with olive oil and toss the kale around in it so they are lightly coated (I use very little oil, you don’t need a ton).  Sprinkle with sea salt, again don’t over do it because kale is a naturally strong taste and too much salt will knock you off your feet.  You can add more at the end if there isn’t enough.

3.  Place in oven for about 10 minutes until crispy and lightly starting to brown.  Let them cool a minute or so and eat em up!

You are getting a huge portion of your daily veggies in one delectable snack.  Not to mention, ah-hem, this whole snack costs less than $1.00 to make.  AND remember, veggies keep you fuller a LOT longer than other empty snacks and food.

I hope you try them and enjoy as much as I do!

My Top 4 Pre-Hot Yoga Snacks

If you are familiar with Hot Yoga you know that you can not practice on a full tummy.  Most of us have learned this the hard way    Usually it’s a lesson learned and we make sure to never let it happen again.

Sometimes it’s difficult to find that perfect balanced snack that will give you enough energy for an intense yoga session without bloating you or making you nauseous.

I have done a lot of experimenting over the years with my pre ‘hot yoga fuel’ and have narrowed my routine down to the following 5 snacks that help me have an awesome yoga class.

I have extremely sensitive blood sugar levels so I need a lot of protein to prevent my blood sugar levels from spiking and dropping.  The following have all proven to keep me stable and energized!

1. Greek Yogurt

This is pretty much a part of my daily routine.  I have one of these before I teach or take class almost every time.  It is my magical best friend.  It fills me up perfectly and holds me over until my meal after class.  If I am feeling shaky or weak, I pop one of these open and feel fantastic.

For those who are turned off by the taste of greek yogurt, I definitely recommend trying the ones with honey or fruit in them.  Chobani and Oikos are my favorite brands.  I didn’t love greek yogurt at first but I trained myself to like them and now I love them!

2. Hummus and Cucumber

This is my other DAILY routine snacks.  I loooooove hummus! I might be a little addicted.  For the health benefits of hummus check out this article.

Hint:  Swap out your dipping crackers for a yummy green veggie like sliced cucumber!   Less calories and sodium than is found in snacking crackers and gets some veggies into your daily diet.  Previously I always used crackers until I had my ‘veggie revolution’ and wanted to submerge my diet with as many veggies as possible.

I have also started experimenting with making my own hummus. Give it a try!

3.  Apples

Enough said 🙂

But seriously, a GREAT pre hot yoga snack as it won’t stuff your belly and it will give you the perfect amount of healthy sugar for your system.  Aside from all the amazing health benefits of apples, I tend to find apples awesome at cleaning out my digestive system: a great compliment to the already detoxing nature of hot yoga.

Apples to Apples!

4. Almonds 

Num Num Num!

Packed full of protein, potassium, magnesium and more, almonds are one of the most common go to snacks for health nuts (ha!)  like us.

Not only do I snack on these before class, I keep a little baggie of almonds in my purse for emergencies i.e. a blood sugar crash in the middle of the day.

Hint: stay away from ‘honey roasted’ or ‘salted’ etc….stick the natural goodness of an almond.

Make almonds a part of your daily routine!

As we all know the key to a healthy diet is snacking often and on healthy foods.

For the hot yogi we sometimes require a little extra care 🙂  Try these pre-hot yoga snacks and let me know if they help you out!

Namaste ❤

What are some of your favorite go-to snacks that promote stable blood sugar and energy levels??