Banana Walnut Kale Chips

raw banana walnut kale chips

A few weeks ago, the wonderful people at Mum’s Original sent me a batch of their organic, vegan, and certified gluten free foods to sample. Hiding in the box was a bag of banana powder. I have to admit, I didn’t really know what to do with it: of course I could use it to make banana flavor in smoothies or baked goods, but then, I happen to always have bananas around, and don’t they create that flavor just fine on their own? And even though I knew it would be a good natural sweetener, I also reasoned I could use bananas themselves to make stuff sweet: heck, I do it in oats all the time.

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Then Hannah, who is ingenious in all matters sweet and indulgent, suggested that I use the banana powder to make a banana themed kale chip. Hannah, you are a genius! (And I’ll get to tell you that in person when you visit D.C. this week).

Yesterday, I took Hannah’s advice and put my scrumptious banana powder to good use. I’ll warn you that the cashew/banana/cinnamon mixture that one uses to coat the kale chips in this recipe is so outstandingly delicious that you may start eating it with a spoon and totally forget about the kale. If you do, I can’t say I blame you.

Banana Walnut Kale Chips

Makes 4 servings

1/4 cup Mum’s original banana powder
1 cup cashews
1 cup water
4 pitted dates
1 tsp cinnamon
Pinch sea salt
1 bunch kale
1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts

1. Remove stems from kale. Wash, dry, and tear it into bite sized pieces.

2. In a high speed blender, blend cashews, water, dates, cinnamon, and salt till creamy smooth,

3. Pour sauce over the kale and massage it in well with your hands. You want the kale to be covered with it; as I always say with kale chips, it’s not the time to get stingy with dressing! You probably won’t need to use all of the dressing, but you’ll use a good amount of it. Reserve leftovers for dipping apple slices or for topping oats!

4. Place kale chips in a dehydrator set to 115 degrees, and dehydrate for 8 hours or so, stopping once to move the chips around and make sure they dry evenly. If you have a tried-and-true oven method for kale chips (175 or 200 degrees for 2 hours, frequently rotating the chips, works best for me, but experiment to see what works for you), you can do that instead. Serve!

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Perfect snack food:

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Now, I realize that banana powder is a rare ingredient, so please feel free to make this recipe with regular old bananas! I’d use 1 ripe banana in place of the powder, and then reduce the liquid to 3/4 cup. The chips will still be delicious and fragrant!

This is the perfect batch of snack food to get my week started right; there’s nothing nicer than having a little something sweet to munch on between classes (and especially after labs), so I really look forward to having these around.

Hope you all had fun weekends. Happy Monday!

xo

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Categories: Snacks
Ingredients: Kale
Dietary Preferences: Raw, Soy Free

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    23 Comments
  1. I have never heard of banana powder before. Like you I always just use banana the actual fruit to flavor my food and make it sweet. I totally love kale chips and have made barbecue kale chips, agave glazed and coconut nectar glazed kale chips but not these. If i can find the banana powder I will try and make these. I am sure they taste yummy! Great stuff! Something sweet for the winter nights in. Thanks xxx

  2. I just can’t get into kale chips! I love the taste, but it bothers me that they get stuck in my teeth so I won’t eat them. Same goes for Oreos. =D

  3. Hang on, what’s that sound you hear? Oh, nothing, just the sound of my heart dancing. That’s all.

    Thank you for your gorgeous words, dear Gena! When I saw this title pop up in my Google Reader, I clicked over excitedly for a whole ‘nother reason (which I shall explain to YOU in person this week, m’dear!), and then KAPOW.

    Heart dancing.

    xo

  4. This sounds great! My dehydrator is still packed away from my recent move, but this just might be worth the effort of finding it and getting it out from the storage area!

  5. Hey Gena, I wanted to ask how much veggies do you eat daily ? how many servings in every meal ?

  6. definitely a unique ingredient! I think lucuma powder would be good in replacement too, it’s mildly sweet.

    are going participating in vegan mofo this month?

  7. My brother and I just saw banana powder at the store the other day and I had no idea what I would use it for. Great idea!
    Do you think it helps thicken as it sweetens? Just wondering how it might work in baked goods as an egg replacer?

  8. As the popularity of kale chips increases, people are discovering that kale is a great neutral base for just about any flavor of chip be that sweet or savory. Your chocolate-covered kale chips (and now this banana walnut flavor as well!) are a great example of that.

    The Mum’s Original site says they use a sweet red banana variety. Is the flavor subtle or more intense? I’m definitely intrigued by this product.

  9. Do you blend the banana powder with everything else? Does it have a granular texture?

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  10. Oh wow, oh wow! I love how you introduce old ideas in news ways that make me want to get back to eating things I know I should (like kale chips, because as you point, out, are awesome).

    “I’ll warn you that the cashew/banana/cinnamon mixture that one uses to coat the kale chips in this recipe is so outstandingly delicious that you may start eating it with a spoon and totally forget about the kale.” Um yes, I can see myself just eating the mixture before it ever makes it to the kale!

    I can see all sorts of possibilities with that banana powder…(banana flavored peanut butter, for example…)