This is not something I would normally make but given its popularity over the past few years and then seeing the cost of a 35 gram bag (6 euros!—Well ok, 5.99 euros but still... ) at the Veggie World trade fair recently, I thought I would give it a go and make it myself.

I'm not quite convinced on these chard and kale chips but I suppose it's a great option for those looking for something healthier than regular potato chips. Though there's no comparison since potatoes, kale, and chard don't taste the same anyways. If you are going for the crunch factor then I suppose these offer a healthier crunch.

It seems like the more I eat them, the more I enjoy them or perhaps I am subconsciously telling myself that since I am the only person in the family eating them. To be fair, my husband hasn't tasted them yet and my eldest is away on a class trip. So that just leaves my youngest and me. Viktor was more amused by the fact that he was eating a feuille, a leaf that is. He is entertained in thinking he has eaten a leaf from a tree.

It's on my list to make in the future and to place it along side with other dips and tidbits during apéro with friends, then I will know if it is well-received or not. Keep ya posted!

Chard and Kale Chips

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup or 50 grams kale
• 2 leaves swiss chard

FLAVORING FOR KALE

• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon of tamarind paste
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 5 grams roasted buckwheat
• coarse sea salt (according to taste)

FLAVORING FOR CHARD

• 1/2 teaspoon olive oil
• 5 grams fried onions
• coarse sea salt (according to taste)

INSTRUCTIONS

Wash your chard and kale leaves, then make sure they are completely dried off.

For flavoring the kale:

In a medium size mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients except for the buckwheat and and salt for flavoring the kale.

Add the kale and rub in the flavored sauce making sure to coat it well.

Then add in the buckwheat and the salt and toss it around.

On a baking tray with parchment paper, lay out each leaf of kale making sure it has its own space.

Place it in the oven at 135° Celsius for 30 minutes with a convection setting if you have one.

Take it out of the oven and let it cool before serving.

For flavoring the chard:

Add all the ingredients in a medium size mixing bowl.

Add your cut up chard leaves and rub in the flavored sauce making sure to coat the leaves well.

Be sure your chard leaves are big enough so that they lay flat and that thefried onions and salt can sit on it.

Line your baking tray with parchment paper and lay out each leaf side by side.

Place it in the oven at 135° Celsius for 30 minutes with a convection setting if you have one.

Take it out of the oven and let it cool before serving.

NOTE

I don't have a food dehydrator, so baking these chard and kale leaves in the oven in low heat and over a long duration of time is another way to dehydrate food.

Buddha bowls have been the rage in healthy living in the past year or two. I never knew what I had been eating actually had a name to it. I like to think of it as a gratitude bowl. Now, I'm not trying to get hippy-dippy on you, but it is a bowl of goodness for your health, mind, and body so we should be grateful for what we have on this earth and for what Mother Nature gives to us.

Brown rice and quinoa mix topped with hijiki tofu patties, beetroot, cucumber wakame sunomono, red cabbage, spinach, crushed avocado with yuzu and poppy seeds, and carrot ginger dressing.

This is a one meal bowl with an emphasis on plant based foods. There are 4 basic components to it: grains and/or nuts and seeds, protein veggies, starchy vegetables, and a dazzling dressing or sauce.

You can use plant based proteins such as avocado, beans, nuts, seeds, and tofu. Other protein substitutes may be egg, sustainable fish and lean meats (for those who need a little more). Play around with the textures of your veggies which can easily be achieved by the way you cook them (boiled, steamed, sautéed, raw, roasted) or cut them (diced, cubed, sliced, julienned).

The combination between texture and taste is something you can be mindful to while eating. A mix of raw vegetables and lightly cooked, steamed, or roasted vegetables add different dimensions to a bowl. Be generous to yourself and be abundant in your veggie servings.

What's great about it is that you can reincarnate any leftovers and recreate new bowls.

Buddha Bowl #1

INGREDIENTS// 1 meal bowl

• brown rice and quinoa mix
• hijiki tofu patties
• beetroot, raw and grated
• cucumber wakame sunomono
• red cabbage, marinated
• spinach or chard
• crushed avocado with yuzu and poppy seeds
• carrot ginger dressing

INSTRUCTIONS

Choose a special bowl and assemble all your elements of goodness on top and around your grains.

Top it off with your special dressing or sauce.

Eat bold and bloom.