Zucchini Chips

I was raised on a farm.  Every year we had a vegetable garden, which I hated because first, I had to weed the darn thing every morning at 5 a.m., and second, because I hated vegetables.  I grew up, moved away, and had kids.  Trying to be a good mom, I had to make my kids eat their vegetables.  That meant I had to make them taste better than the ones my mother (literally) forced down my throat.

I learned that you can actually make vegetables taste good if you (1) use lots of seasoning and (2) avoid the microwave (no offense, Mom!).  And, after several years of living in the city, I took over a couple of neglected flower beds and planted vegetables.

Since I didn't remember much from my childhood gardening (I try to repress most of that!), everything was an experiment.  The first year, I actually got tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, and zucchini - but everything was in miniature.  (We called it the Oompa-Loompa garden.)

The next year, everything exploded - especially the zucchini.  And, as most peole in Arizona grow zucchini, you can't even give the stuff away.  Out of that first crop, I created my healthy version of chips - low in carbs and no oil.

Zucchini chips

Cut zucchini into 3/8 inch slices (I use a mandolin to make them even - not the expensive kind I wanted, but the $12 one seems to work just fine).

Put slices in a single layer in dehydrator.  Sprinkle with sea salt.  You can leave plain or add additional seasonings – I like Mrs. Dash's, tomato, basil and garlic flavoring.  My son Jeff likes ranch seasoning.

I like to gather help of any children around!

Follow your dehydrator's guidelines on how long to leave in.  Mine says to put the temperature at 135 degrees and I usually leave them in overnight.  If you don't have a dehydrator, put wax paper on cookie sheets and use the lowest setting on your oven.  Just make sure to use it during the day so you don't burn the house up overnight and so you don't over-cook or dehydrate the chips.  And, if you live in a dry, Arizona heat, you can also place them outside for a day or two - just be careful because the birds like them.

Once their done, just put in plastic baggies for snacks.

They're great when you're craving salty snacks, and if you have a handful and drink a glass of water, it fills you up so you're not hungry anymore.  In fact, make sure you drink lots of water when you eat a lot of them them so you don't have any intestinal problems (if you've never had dehydrated fruits or vegetables before, they can kind of stop you up).