Raw Kale Chip Showdown!

Zach and I have been searching far and wide for the best raw kale chips over the past six months. We have tasted many brands from grocery stores in San Francisco, New York, and DC.  During this particular taste test, we tasted 3 brands -- New York Naturals; Brad's (nasty hot flavor) from PA sold in DC; and Elizabeth's Gone Raw from DC. The New York Naturals brand was okay, but not very tasty. The texture was good, but the kale rinds were hard and difficult to swallow. Brad's "nasty hot" didn't taste very hot at all. Oddly enough, this chip was lighter in color and less crisp than the other two.  Lastly, we tasted Elizabeth's Gone Raw's kale chips. They were a good texture, crisp, spicy and tasty. You really can not eat just one of Elizabeth's Gone Raw's chips. There is so much flavor in these chips!

From left to right: Elizabeth's, NY Naturals, Brad's

Interestingly enough, the ingredients in all of these chips were similar with slight variations.  They all used red bell pepper, cashews, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, sea salt and cayenne pepper. Elizabeth's and Brad's also had jalapeno. New York Naturals and Brad's included sunflower seeds in their recipes.

As far as packaging, Brad's and New York Naturals' used plastic containers, which are probably better for shipping. As Elizabeth's doesn't ship her kale chips (sorry for those of you outside the DC area), she has a very cool green bag in which she packages her chips.

In the end, Elizabeth's won this taste test - hands down!  These chips are only available at Elizabeth's Gone Raw, the restaurant. So, you can only get these chips one of two ways: (1) you can dine at her fine raw restaurant or (2) you can pick up a bag at the restaurant during the day. Just be sure to call first as they aren't always available.