Why Blog?

We started our little group because we found that we gravitated toward talking to each other about the various challenges of food allergies or restrictions and found that it was extremely challenging for others to understand the struggle.  The more we talked about it, the more people we discovered with similar challenges and thus, the group was formed.

It is personally my hope that this Blog with be a great supplement to the group and even help us to reach people we could never have reached with our group alone. It is also my hope that each member will share their knowledge and experience. My hope is that this is a form of giving and receiving knowledge.

I am married to a very healthy husband and have no children.  I have fairly recently been diagnosed with an extensive list of allergies, including a great deal of food allergies, though I have dealt with allergies since childhood.  I have other health complications that I believe can be helped by radically changing the way I eat.  I am also in the process of losing weight.  I am passionate about  learning about nutrition, health and food.  I love to cook and try new things, so I will likely share a lot of recipes.  In fact, I'll share my very simple recipe for Kale Chips that I made last week and were a big hit!

-Melissa

Kale!

1 Bunch of Kale (I used the green curly kind)
About 1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
About 1 teaspoon Salt
About 1/2 teaspoon Fresh Cracked Black Pepper
About 1/4 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Wash and dry the Kale, if you have a salad spinner, I heard they work great but I don't, so I put it in the colander and shook it and then dried it off with paper towels.

Cut the Kale into bite size pieces with kitchen shears, be sure to remove the hard center stem.

Put the oil and seasonings into a large mixing bowl.  Add the Kale to the bowl and toss to coat.  Be sure to shake the extra oil off so they don't get soggy and oily, then place each piece onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake for 9-10 minutes until crisp and the edges are lightly browned, but not burned.  You will want to watch them closely so they don't burn.  Cool on a cooling rack, then enjoy!