I love snacks.

Who doesn't love the crunch of a potato chip? I have spent many years training on how to eat entire bags of chips in one sitting.

Potato chips are risky if you've got allergies though.

Watch out for MALT vinegar- GLUTEN

Watch out for all sorts of dairy ingredients. I used to ignore dairy if it was in chips...but it really isn't something you should do.

Watch out for WHEAT. It's sneaky and can show up in the chip, or in the seasoning.

I went out to Whole Foods, and under recommendation from a friend, bought Pop Chips. They are always gluten-free, and some of their flavours are vegan.
My verdict:
Disappointing...They're "popped" so they have the consistency of more of a rice cake than a potato chip. I wasn't crazy about the Salt and Vinegar flavour either. Probably won't buy them again.

There are so many wonderful brands of gluten-free snacks. Mostly made of corn or rice, they are sure to satisfy.

Buy some blue corn chips and dip them in some fresh salsa.
Buy some Kettle Brand chips- but watch out for dairy and malt in a few of their flavours.
Buy some rice crisps...my favourite are Lundberg Rice Chips- try the Sesame and Seaweed flavour.


HOWEVER: If you like to avoid chips in general- there is a solution....

KALE CHIPS!

I've found that Black Kale is the best type of kale to go with if you're going to use this recipe. The leaves are thicker and make for a better "chip". Look for darker, denser kale at the grocery store that looks like this...





LAURA'S KALE CHIP RECIPE:

Heat oven to 275 degrees F.

In a bowl, separate the leaves of kale from their thick stems. (A trick for this is to pinch the stem between two fingers, and slide up towards the top of the leaf. It separates the tough stem from the leaf. Any stem that comes with the leaf is fine enough to eat)

Drip a SMALL amount of olive oil over the leaves, and massage in with your hands.

Add some freshly cracked sea salt...or if you don't have a garlic allergy like me, sprinkle some garlic powder over the leaves.

Arrange leaves (leave spaces between each....this is very important!!) on a lightly oiled baking sheet.

Bake in oven for approximately 10 minutes- leaves should be crispy, but NOT brown.

And finally...

CONSUME!