Friend of Julie: Veggie Chips

Here are a handful of recipes for veggie chips, which you can make with kale, carrots, turnips, beets, butternut squash, zucchini, or radish. I haven't made any of these, but I love veggie chips and perhaps I will get around to making these later this month. Meanwhile, there's no reason to hold back this recipe that some of you might use sooner than later, especially if you are looking for something to bring to a holiday party that you can eat too.

Veggie Chips

I'm not sure my chips will ever look as beautiful as the photo above, but it is inspirational.

Note: These chips should not be eaten alone, because we don't snack. Also be sure you have an equal amount of meat to veggie; bite for bite or less veggies than meat.

The following guidelines apply to all recipes:

• Use a mandolin — a cooking utensil that can pump out uniform, thin slices — or a chef’s knife to cut slices 1/8 — 1/4 of an inch thick. It’s important to get the chips thin to get just the right crisp.
• When placing the chips on a baking sheet, line the sheet with parchment paper and lay the chips in a single layer. If the chips overlap, the edges won’t cook evenly.
• For even cooking, rotate the pan halfway through and flip the chips.
• For small batches, pop the chip subs in a toaster oven.
• Store leftovers in an airtight container, though most of these won’t stay at their peak crunchiness for long.

Carrot Chips

Carrot Chips

These veggie chips have lots of beta-carotene, which converts into vitamin A in the body.

Why munch on boring carrot sticks when you can turn raw carrots into crispy, delicate chips instead? A vegetable peeler (a Y-shaped peeler works best, but use what you have) is the only tool you’ll need to make these sweet, paper-thin crisps that are perfect for healthy snacking or as a garnish for your salad.

The carrot slices shrink considerably when baked, so buy the thickest carrots you can find to end up with wider, sturdier chips.

1. Use a vegetable peeler to shave the carrots into thin, even slices. 
2. Preheat oven to 250 and bake for 45 minutes, or until crispy.

Beet Chips

Beet Chips

Beets have a ton of antioxidant betalain, known for it’s anti-inflammatory and detoxification powers. Slicing the roots and baking them produces a deep purple chip that’s sweet from natural sugars (or a golden yellow if made with golden beets).

1. Preheat oven to 350, and bake 20 minutes. 
2. Rotate sheet and bake 10-20 more minutes. 
3. For a sweet and savory combination, top them with a touch of goat cheese.

Smoky Beet Chips

Smoky Beet Chips

• 2 medium sized beets, scrubbed clean
• 4 egg whites
• 1 tsp. smoked paprika powder
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• Olive oil
• Flake sea salt for finishing

This recipe adds a bit of spice: paprika and garlic...

1. Preheat your oven to 375. If you use convection, preheat to 350.
2. Thinly slice your beets and place them in a bowl of water. Rinse beets until water runs clear and pat dry with a dishcloth.
3. In a shallow dish, beat your egg whites, paprika and garlic together.
4. Take your beet slices that have been dried and one at a time, dip into the egg white mixture and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Keep the chips close together but do not overlap. Place into your oven on the lowest rack.
5. After 10 minutes, slightly coat the beets with oil. Increase your oven’s heat by 25 degrees (375 for convection; 400 for non-convection) and continue to bake for an additional 15 minutes. Keep your eye on them and remove from the oven when they turn a beautiful golden red-brown color. Cooking times will vary based on your oven.
6. Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes (if you can wait).
7. Finish with flake sea salt.

Butternut Squash Chips

These are the biggest of all the chips in the land. They’re sweet, taste pumpkin-y, and you get two fun shapes out of one squash. The seedless part up top yields sizable rounds, while the bottom part (once deseeded and sliced) makes rings.

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Bake for 20 minutes, flip and cook until brown on the edges.

Zucchini Chips

This green veggie is a solid source of niacin and thiamine, two B vitamins that help us produce healthy hair and skin.

1. Preheat oven to 450. 
2. Bake for 8-10 minutes, flip slices, then roast for another 8-10 minutes. 

Radish Chips

Bear with these little guys. We know it’ll take a little more patience to slice ’em up, but they’re a good source of riboflavin (which helps convert food to fuel) and copper (important for our immunity).

1. Dust these little rounds with curry, turmeric, garlic, paprika, and pepper for a super-flavorful treat.
2. Preheat oven to 350, roast for 15 minutes, flip and cook for another 15.

Turnip Chips

Turnips are a great source of vitamin B6, which helps to produce serotonin, the hormone that helps us sleep and control appetite.

1. If you’d rather not peel them, make sure to give them a good scrub before the chips hit the baking sheet.
2. Preheat oven to 375. 
3. Roast for 20-25 minutes. 

Kale Chips

Kale Chips

Kale is a distant cousin of broccoli and is known to have a very large amount of antioxidants compared to other fruits and veggies. Since kale can sometimes be a little bitter, gently massaging the leaves with a little olive oil before baking. Or dust with Parmesan for the real McCoy.

For a flat chip, use dinosaur kale. The alternative, curly kale, is much more textured.

1. Preheat oven to 375. 
2. Rinse and dry 1 large bunch of kale, then remove the stems and tough center ribs. 
3. Rip the kale into large pieces, toss with a little olive oil, then sprinkle with some salt and pepper. 
4. Bake until crisp, about 10 to 15 minutes, checking frequently, as they can burn easily.