"Cheesy" Kale Chips (dehydrator)

I don't know how much they are now but a few years ago, cheesy kale chips were selling in a health food store for more than $13. Ouch. I was determined to make my own. There are tons of recipes online, but this one from Fresh Network was my initial inspiration. You can also add ingredients such as fresh cilantro, garlic, miso, sundried tomatoes or sesame seeds. They always come out tasting great.

I have since discovered that you can make crispy baked kale chips in the oven. The oven is faster but dehydrating veggies does a better job at preserving the nutrients.

Ingredients

• 200g organic kale (Spinach and lettuce are on the Dirty Dozen list).
• 3/4 cup of raw cashews
• 1 large red bell pepper (organic, it's on the Dirty Dozen List)
• Juice of one lemon
• 1/2 cup nutritional yeast (at least!) 
• 1 teaspoon of red chili peppers (chipotle peppers work well too)
• Himalayan crystal salt or Celtic sea salt to taste

Instructions

1. Chop the red pepper into small pieces and add to a blender or food processor with the lemon juice. Blend until smooth.
2. Add the cashews, red chili and salt and again blend until smooth.
3. Add the nutritional yeast and blend again. Doing it in stages like this helps you to get the smooth consistency you need without over-heating it. The consistency reminds me of hummus.
4. Remove the stems on the kale and cut into smaller pieces. Put the kale in a large bowl then pour the blended mixture over it and massage it in until all the leaves are coated.
5. Place kale pieces on dehydrator trays and dehydrate at 110 degrees. It should take about 6-8 hours. If they aren't ready, just leave them in until they are!