Chocolate raspberry kale chips

Bailey and Nika sleeping-bagging it.

There's nothing better than snuggling in a warm sleeping bag in the midst of winter as Bailey and Nika (pictured above) will tell you. This week we got our first blast of real winter (yes, in mid-January), complete with blizzard-like conditions that turned to rain and flooding, all in a period of 24 hours.

The snow piled up briefly before melting. I didn't even have a chance to snap pictures of Misha and Nika enjoying their first snowfall at home. But they did have fun romping about in it before things turned to a muddy mess.

Misha loves all things soft and cuddly.

Misha really enjoys sleeping bags too as you can see. Now, that it's all muddy and wet outside with rain continuing to fall the pooches are having to spend more time indoors but they don't seem to mind.

Here's almost everyone sprawled out on sleeping bags.

I have really been devouring kale this winter. Sometimes it's hard to find quality kale in some markets but it's worth the effort to find your local grocer who has connections for the good stuff. Kale is one of those cruciferous veggies, also known as "super vegetables." These veggies enhance immunity and prevent disease.

I love kale all year round but it's especially worth eating kale and other cruciferous veggies in the winter when your immune system is being bombarded by viruses and germs. Other commonly consumed cruciferous vegetables are broccoli, cauliflower, collard greens, brussels sprouts, bok choy, rutabaga, cabbage and mustard greens.

As far as recipes go, I guess I am beginning to sound like a broken record as every recipe I've featured recently has been some form of kale chips. What can I say. I'm addicted to kale chips but I also eat kale raw as that's when this cruciferous veggie is at its best.

But ah, kale chips. They make such crunchy snacks. This week I have been craving raspberries and chocolate. I thought, "What do you think raspberries and chocolate kale chips would taste like?" I wasn't sure what my efforts would produce when I set about mixing raspberries and cacao powder but the result was delish.

Chocolate raspberry kale chips

Chocolate raspberry kale chips

Ingredients:

• 1 cup frozen raspberries, thawed
• 2 T. cacao powder
• 2 T. coconut oil, melted
• stevia or other sweetener to taste
• optional: 1-2 T. ground cacao nibs for sprinkling on top

Directions:

• Preheat your oven to 250 degrees.
• Spray a large cookie sheet with pan spray.
• Wash kale and remove the leaves from the stems. Cut the kale  leaves into bite-sized pieces. Drain and dry kale.
• Combine the raspberries, cacao, coconut oil and sweetener in a small bowl.
• Pour several tablespoons-full of chocolate-raspberry mixture over kale, placed in a large bowl.
• With your hands, massage into kale leaves the chocolate-raspberry mixture.
• Spread the kale on the baking sheet. As an option, sprinkle the kale leaves with ground cacao nibs for an added dose of chocolate. Note: I made the kale with and without added cacao nibs and found the raspberry chocolate flavor more intense without the nibs.
• Place  the pan of kale in oven.
• Leave kale in the oven for 30 minutes. Turn leaves over about halfway. Remove leaves as they get dry.
• Eat and enjoy! Store the extras in the fridge.

I am sharing this recipe with Weekend Wellness at: http://www.dietdessertndogs.com/2012/01/19/wellness-weekend-january-19-23-2011/