An Experiment in Healthier Eating: Spinach Chips

I used

1 bunch of spinach¹,

Olive oil,

Kosher salt, and

A parchment paper lined large cookie sheet

In an effort to have a healthier snack when I'm at work.

To make the spinach chips, I

Preheated the oven to 325^oF,

Pinched off the stems of the spinach and washed the leaves like I wash collards², then set the leaves on a paper towel lined cookie sheet for additional drying,

Took the largest leaves, put them in a bowl, drizzled them with olive oil, and hand mixed until the leaves were well coated,

Placed the oiled leaves on the parchment paper lined cookie sheet,

Dusted the oiled leaves with kosher salt, and

Baked them for roughly 10 minutes.

First batch - Fresh from the oven

I thought I would eat them like potato chips, but they were thin and delicate. I put them in a plastic container, which may have had the unfortunate effect of amplifying their fragrance. I was afraid to pop open the lid at my desk, lest someone be disturbed by the scent of salty dried spinach.

They melt in the mouth. But the aftertaste is, well,

Spinach.

Were I to try again, I'd

Use the pre-washed salad spinach, cutting down on prep time, and (hopefully) getting more uniformly sized leaves;

Add flavor to the olive oil – maybe a chili oil or sesame oil or even a soy sauce emulsion of sorts; and

Somehow use a lighter touch with the salt.

But I won't. This experiment has taught me I prefer my spinach as part of a smoothie (with frozen banana and a teaspoon of sugar) or as a warm salad with bacon and goat cheese and the right type of vinaigrette.

Ah well. On to the next effort,

1. Well, I bought one bunch of spinach. Some leaves looked too small for the effort, and it was getting late (I started baking at 7pm on a school night), so the rest of the spinach ended up in a pasta dish.

2. I have no idea how to clean spinach – I usually buy the pre-washed stuff. I was trying to save money with this effort.