Spinach Chips aren't the Answer

Today was an all-around hard day.  It was hard for the normal reasons (work, life, balancing it all) which made it hard for the dieting reasons. For those of you who don’t follow this blog, I’ve put myself on a sugar-free, yeast-free, gluten-free diet.  For two weeks I have to avoid a number of foods in what is called a”cleanse.”  I’ve been pretty good. I have managed to avoid potatoes for about 5 days, but it seems like so much more!  I’ve gone about 2 weeks without my favorite snack in the world – corn chips.  I’m craving the salt, the satisfying crunch, and the somewhat sweet taste.   I don’t know why I think that having chips would make the day any better, but craving them is making the day that much worse.

Spinach Chips paired with Coconut Fried Chicken

I don’t usually like to let negativity seep into this blog, but without those chips or any kind of sugar, I

thought venting might help a bit.  I did look for a solution to my craving and found a recipe for Spinach Chips.  I’m not a big fan of kale (yet) and these seemed like a viable replacement for kale chips.  I mixed 2 cups of spinach with salt, Italian seasoning, and olive oil and then spread them on a baking sheet.  Getting them off the baking sheet was a little challenging.  The “chips” were so thin that some of them broke off before I could transfer them to a plate.  You can imagine that eating them posed the same challenge.  I tried using a fork but that was awkward, so I managed to use a combination of a fork and my fingers – messy and oily!

The taste wasn’t what I was expecting.  It tasted like spinach, of course, but more like wilted spinach. Maybe I overcooked them or maybe the spinach leaves I had were too ripe.  I’m not sure.  They didn’t have the crunch that I was hoping for, but they did have a nice crispiness to them.  They might make a good salad topping. I’m willing to try the recipe again to see if I can make it better.  Unfortunately, I still want corn chips.