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A delightfully sneaky way to eat veggies

Baked veggie chips are a smart and healthy snack everyone enjoys. They're crispy, crunchy, gloriously guilt-free little nibbles. With root vegetables in peak season there's never been a better time to bake up a batch.

You've probably seen vegetable chips in the snack aisle of the grocery store. When you see how simple they are to make I hope you'll give it a try. By baking at home, you'll avoid the excess salt, preservatives, and mystery oils. Do I even need to mention the cost savings?

If you can slice it you can bake it into a chip. After lots of experimentation, I found that different veggies cook at different times even if sliced the same. I recommend you do one variety of veggie at a time and slice them as uniformly as possible. A mandolin makes fast, consistent work of the slicing. Due to the fact that the sizes of individual vegetables vary you'll need to watch and remove them when they look baked.

BAKED ROOT VEGETABLE CHIPS

What You'll Need:

Your choice of root vegetables -here's what I used to make six baking sheets of chips:

1 Sweet potato – peeled

1 Parsnip – peeled and large end halved

1 Beet – peeled - see note below

Oil or cooking spray

Salt – fine sea salt is best

Here's How:

Use a mandolin at 1/16 inch thick or very sharp knife to slice the veggies very thin. To reduce moisture, place the veggies in a single layer on paper towels and sprinkle with salt. Let them sit for about 15 minutes then blot dry.

Preheat oven to 375°. Place oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of your oven. Spray two baking sheets with cooking spray or brush with oil. Place veggie slices in a single layer on baking sheets. Spray slices with cooking spray or brush lightly with olive oil. Bake 10 to 15 minutes or until crisp, rotating pans halfway through. You may need to remove slices that are getting over-browned. Serve immediately. Repeat with remaining veggie slices.

Note regarding beets – although beautiful and delicious they stain everything they touch. Don't say I didn't warn you.

LEMON PEPPER KALE CHIPS

What You'll Need:

1 (one pound) bag pre-washed and cut kale or 2 bunches fresh kale

Canola or olive oil cooking spray

Kosher salt

Lemon pepper seasoning

Here's How:

Prepare kale by stripping leaves from the stems and tearing into pieces. If using pre-cut kale remove large stem pieces. It's important that the kale is completely dry. Spray a large baking sheet with cooking spray. Spread kale in a single layer and spray with cooking spray. Sprinkle with salt and lemon pepper seasoning. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until the edges are browned but not burned. Repeat with remaining kale. Serve immediately.

I hope you add these recipes to your repertoire of smart snacks. By adding different seasonings, like garlic, curry, rosemary, or chili powder, the variations are practically endless. You can even add cinnamon to sweet potatoes for a sweet and crunchy snack. Who doesn't love a new way to get your five a day?

Frugal foods contributed by Patti Diamond, from Divas On A Dime – Where Frugal, Meets Fabulous! www.divasonadime.com Join us on Facebook at DivasOnADimeDotCom.

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