Kale Chips

As well as being high in vitamins A, C & K, kale helps to fight heart disease, cancer, mental illness and high blood pressure. These kale chips are a great healthy snack to fight those cravings.

You can make this healthy snack in a food dehydrator or an oven.

Ingredients:

• 1 head kale, washed and dried thoroughly
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil or flax seed oil
• Sea salt for light seasoning

Procedure for oven:

1. Preheat oven to 120ºC
2. Remove the ‘ribs’ from the kale and cut into 2 inch pieces
3. Toss with olive oil and salt
4. Lay on a baking tray and bake in the oven for 20mins until crisp, making sure to turn half way through
5. Serve hot or allow to cool and eat as a healthy snack or add to salads

Procedure for food dehydrator:

1. 1. Chop Kale into 2 inch pieces. Remember they will shrink in size after they have been dehydrated so make them bigger than bite size
2. Drizzle with flax seed oil and sprinkle with sea salt
3. Leave for around 30mins to absorb the flavours
4. Spread pieces out onto your food dehydrator tray
5. Set your dehydrator to 52ºC and leave kale chips in for around 8 hours
6. Chips will be ready when they are crispy – don’t be tempted to take them out too early!

These chips will keep for around 2 years if stored correctly. We recommend the Bio Chef Food Dehydrator for best results

Banana Chips

Slightly brown-flecked bananas will have the sweetest, most concentrated flavour when dried.

1. Peel the bananas. Slice bananas into 1/4-inch or 3/8-inch chips.
2. Dip each banana slice into the lemon juice. This lessens browning of the banana chips and adds a bit of vitamin C back into the banana.
3. Shake off the extra lemon juice and lay the banana slice on the dehydrator tray. Leave enough space between banana slices on the tray to allow sufficient air flow for drying.
4. Fill the available dehydrator trays with banana slices. Put the trays into the dehydrator and set initial temperature to 150 degrees Fahrenheit and dry at that temperature for the first two hours.
5. Turn the temperature down to 130 degrees Fahrenheit after two hours. From here it will take another six hours for bananas to fully dry.
6. Half way through, stop the food dehydrator and flip over all the banana slices. The slices are easy to peel off the dehydrator tray when they are warm, and turning ensures dryness.
7. Test for dryness. If the banana chips are leathery to crisp, they are done.
8. Cool the banana chips for a few hours in the food dehydrator before removing them. Pack dried chips into plastic bags when they are fully cool. Store at room temperature.

We recommend the Bio Chef Food Dehydrator for best results

Healthy Beetroot Chips

Beetroots are currently in season around Australia so now is a great time to try adding more beetroot to your diet. Whether making wholesome snacks for you and your family or adding them to your daily juice, beetroots are a superfood that pack a punch.

Top five health benefits of beetroot

• Help to cleanse your liver: Beetroot is full of beta cyanin that can aid your body with detoxifying your liver. This can filter through to your bloodstream, helping your body to eliminate toxins. This can help prevent the build-up of fatty deposits on your body.
• Beetroot juice can help fight against strokes and heart attacks: The juice from beetroots has been shown to help reduce your blood pressure. A recent study at the Royal London Hospital found that once beetroot is swallowed it produces nitric oxide. This is a powerful substance made by our blood vessels to help keep our blood pressure low.
• Boosts your immune system: This same study found the nitric oxide beetroots produce in our body works like our white blood cells, helping our bodies to fight off infection. Not to mention the unbelievable range of nutrients and minerals and vitamins found in beetroots that help boost your immune system.
• Beetroot is full of vitamins, nutrients and minerals: This vegie is a workhorse. It contains vitamin C and iron, both of which are essential elements for health and vitality. It also has: folic acid, phosphorous, magnesium and B6. The vitamin C in this vegie also helps our bodies to absorb the iron...GO BEETROOTS! But keep in mind, vitamin C is water soluble. This means that if you cook it, it will lose a lot of its powerhouse goodness. The best way to eat this vegetable is RAW.
• Beetroots can make you happy: Beets have been shown to contain betaine. This compound can increase your body's natural production of seratonin.

Ingredients

• 3 medium beetroot (or more if desired)
• 2 tsp extra virgin Olive Oil
• 2 tsp sea salt (if desired)

Method in a dehydrator

1. Slice beets into thin slices - a mandolin works great here if you have one.
2. Drizzle with extra virgin Olive Oil and sprinkle with sea salt to your preference.
3. Leave sitting for about 30 minutes to absorb the flavours of the oil and salt.
4. Spread pieces evenly on your dehydrator trays.
5. Set your dehydrator to 52ºC and leave for around 8 hours - depending on how crispy you like them.
6. Enjoy.

Tip: We like to separate them into equal portions and put in containers for my kids lunches. I also fill a glass container with them and leave them on my desk at work for a beautiful and delicious snack.

We recommend the Bio Chef Food Dehydrator for best results

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