Kale Chips: A Surprising Hit with Preschoolers and Recipe

this piece is running at kveller.com today. You can try it with other greens too!

Last week, my sweet boy turned 5 and we celebrated by hosting his preschool class at our farm for a treasure hunt, pony rides with a neighbor, and lunch. He originally requested a party at one of those indoor bouncy centers, so I was very happy that we were able to coax, sell, and redirect him toward a homespun farm party.

The day before the party, my husband brought in a large bag of tender baby kale from the farm–the first of the spring new growth. When I asked my son what we should serve as a snack for the party, he completely surprised me by suggesting kale chips. I laughed and wondered how they would go over with his class that is used to much more standard preschool fare.

We served lunch in our sukkah which is still standing on the edge of one of our fields, now dressed up with balloons and crepe paper. The children were hungry when they sat down and the first thing I put out was the kale chips. Only one child made a face and said, “I don’t like those, they are green.” But all the other children reached in to try them. And they were a huge hit! The children grabbed seconds and thirds and moments later the bowl was empty.

Maybe you want to try this for your next preschool or grown-up gathering. I promise you, if you have never tried them you will be amazed by how good they are. Plus, they are kosher for Passover! Here is how to make them:

1. Gather one large bunch of young tender kale from your garden, farmers market, or grocery store. Note, they shrink a lot in this recipe, so start with more than you think you need.

2. Wash well and drain or dry leaves.

3. Put kale in a large bowl and drizzle with olive oil and salt to taste, stirring to get an even coating of salt and oil on the leaves.

4. Lay kale in a single layer on baking sheets and bake for about 10 minutes at 350 degrees. Flip kale and continue cooking for another 3-5 minutes. Watch them closely; they should crisp up nicely. The edges will brown a bit but should not turn black.

5. That’s it, cool and serve.

 

This post originally appeared on kveller.com.

Kveller.com offers a Jewish twist on parenting, everything a Jewish family could need for raising Jewish children–including crafts, recipes, activities, Hebrew and Jewish names for babies…and advice from Mayim Bialik.

More Kale, Less Vinyl — A Birthday Success

So my baby boy, my first-born — turned 5!  I am pretty blown away by this birthday and I am completely overwhelmed with pride at what an amazing person he is already.

A few months ago, he asked for his birthday to be at one of those indoor bouncy centers where you can’t hear anyone talk over the sounds of the fans and machines running.  And all the blow up vinyl toys smell like a plastic factory.  And they serve unhealthy lunches in a little glass room on the side.  And the kids have the TIME OF THEIR LIVES, and the parents just have to show up and pay.

I thought about it, but there was no way I could celebrate my son’s 5th birthday,which happens to fall right after the spring equinox, inside a loud room, that smells like a plastic factory when we live on a farm! But I had to think fast and get into my best sales-mom mode.  I didn’t want him to be disappointed.

It’s almost Shabbat, so there is no time to write the whole story but in short,  we turned it around and wound up with a wonderful outdoor party where all but one of the children ate and enjoyed kale chips (recipe will follow) along with more  standard party fare like fruit salad and of course cake.   They rode on a neighbors horse, went on a farm scavenger hunt, sniffed fresh sprouted peppermint, sat on a tractor and had a wonderful time — maybe even as much fun as they would in a bouncy center!  I could see my son bursting with pride when he yelled “follow the birthday boy,” and lead a small pack of children to the rosemary bush where he had hidden the small bottles of bubbles.

Here are a few photos.  Introducing my little handmade felt bags which were filled with surprises from the scavenger hunt.  I even had some help cutting them out.

Here is the 5 fruit salad for my five-year old!

And the scavenger hunt in progress.

We ate outside in one of the fields in our Sukkah (which is still up) this time decorated with balloons and crêpe paper, you can see it in the distance.  It was perfect!

Now, to adjust to being the mother of a 5-year-old.