Kale is becoming ever more popular among the urban community. People are discovering the many delicious ways to use the tough collard, and this is just one of them. Baking kale creates a crisp texture, which satisfies that crunch you get when eating potato chips while also providing you with more health benefits and a lot less calories. The average bag of potato chips has at least 130 calories while a similar-sized bag of kale chips tops the charts at 40 calories. These homemade chips are also good for your wallet. A head of kale from the farmers’ market costs no more than two dollars. A week’s worth of snacks, in two dollars and 40 calories — it doesn’t get much better than that.

Ingredients

1 bunch of kale
2 tbs of extra virgin olive oil
Dash of salt, to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees Fahrenheit

2. Wash and dry kale thoroughly and remove the rib (the tough stem)

3. Break into chunks roughly the size of the palm of your hand

4. Place chunks on baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil and salt

5. Bake 20 minutes, turning them halfway through

Notes

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes

This is a very basic recipe — you can go crazy with it. I like adding parmesan cheese with the salt, but you can also add garlic powder, red pepper, black pepper and whatever else your taste bud desires.

A version of this article appeared in the Tuesday, Sept. 25 print edition. Kim Buesser is a contributing writer. Email her at [email protected].