Recipes
Savory Tuscan Kale and White Bean Soup
I recently posted a fresh and light side dish perfect for the summer time. Lacinato Kale Summer Salad uses Tuscan kale (a.k.a. Dinosaur kale, or Lacinato kale) flavored with cherries, bacon, and goat cheese to appeal to all the taste buds. I had a few extra stalks of kale leftover and some white beans to use up so I threw together this soup, which turned out so good! This Savory Tuscan Kale and White Bean Soup packs in a ton of flavor and nutrients.
I love to make soups. Yes, it is summer and with the higher heat it is not always as appealing to eat soup, but with a soup that tastes like this the heat won’t matter.
Benefits of Homemade Soup
Making homemade soup is something I recommend for anyone trying to lose weight, eat nutrient dense veggies, and feel fuller longer. You can pack in dozens of different vegetables and change up the spices to make completely different flavors of soup high in phytonutrients and low in calories. In the wintertime I make at least one big batch of soup every week (for a family of 5) and in the summer maybe every few weeks.
When you open the fridge to see what I call “vegetable scraps” (you know when you have a zucchini, some celery, a half onion, 6 carrots, and whatever else lingers) – throw it in a pot with some broth and herbs for an easy, tasty, and healthy meal choice.
The best part is almost every soup freezes super well! Freeze in gallon ziplock bags to eat in the future when you are running short on time.
Flavor Preferences
Over time you will learn what herbs taste best so you will be able to alter based on your family’s preference. Staples for me are: Sea salt, black or white pepper, oregano, basil, and garlic powder.
*A tip for making soups the kids will enjoy – add in less herbs initially. Kids do not enjoy a ton of spice (they have healthier, more sensitive taste buds than we do). You want to add some herbs because as the soup cooks the broth will pick up the flavors of the herbs making the soup taste better. However, using less of the stronger (especially peppery) herbs and leaving those to add in later is a good idea. I have learned this the hard way a few times, “mom it’s too spicy”.
My husband adds in hot sauce to pretty much everything I give him. Everything. I used to get mad because I felt like if the food had enough natural flavor he shouldn’t need it. Then I learned he just really really really loves hot sauce. Pick your battles, right?
Though my kids have requested to try hot sauce, it is not something I would add in off the get go. You can always throw in some sea salt, pepper, and a little more garlic powder before you heat up the soup.
A Taste of Italy
Grab all the ingredients below and let’s get to it!
In a large soup pot fry up the olive oil, chopped onion (I pulse mine in a food processor), and the garlic on medium high heat. If you don’t have a food processor, I highly suggest you get one. I am hoping to purchase a larger food processor at some point but for now I have this mini chopper from Amazon and I love it. It makes cooking much quicker, which is exactly what us busy moms need! I make many of my dishes using this chopper, including homemade almond butter.
Once the onions and garlic start to brown add in the chopped mushrooms, chopped zucchini, and the spices & herbs. Toss all the ingredients around until well coated. When the zucchini starts to brown you can move on to adding the rest of the ingredients.
Now we add in the container of bone broth. I prefer bone broth, as the benefits of collagen to the skin, organs,and joints are superior to regular broth. However any broth will do. Pay attention to the ingredients and avoid broths made with corn, soy, “flavorings” (which are often times wheat based), oils, or artificial sweeteners. None of that belongs in a broth. None of it. Please read labels!
I love this broth from Pacific but there are other great options out there. We make our own bone broth at home as well, which tastes great in soups!
After adding the broth, add in 4-5 cups of water. I initially added in 4 cups but after the soup was done (About 25 minutes) I decided to add in another cup and let it simmer longer. The soup thickens up nicely so I find that amount of water is perfect. If you are going to serve right away 4 cups should be plenty. This also changes a little based on the size of your veggies so use your preferences to gauge the amount of water.
Next we add the cannellini beans. You may have read that beans are damaging to the GI tract. If you follow the autoimmune protocol or strict paleo, beans and legumes are removed from the diet. This is with good reason, as for some with leaky gut – these foods can be more damaging. The problem with beans comes mostly from the lectins, plant proteins that serve to protect the plant. Agglutinins are one of the problematic proteins. Their purpose to the bean is to serve as a potent insecticide. This is why it is important to purchase non-GMO, organic beans. Genetically modified beans have been altered to produce MORE of the “natural” insecticides.
I have removed beans several times from my diet then reintroduced them again. I buy our beans Non-GMO, organic, and in bulk. Buying the beans in bulk saves money and is super easy to do. This way requires soaking and cooking the beans but is well worth the time and for myself. The soaking helps to reduce the damaging proteins.
Since I have healed my gut following the autoimmune protocol for over 6 months I now have no issues with a small amount of beans. I enjoy them! Which brings up a point – I am all about following certain “diets” if you need a reference point for healing and healthy eating. However, having worked with nutrition for over 10 years now I have learned one VERY important thing.
Nutrition is personal
What works for someone else may or may not work for you. Every human being has varying stress levels, activity levels, hormones, genetic predisposition, chronic conditions, and bacterial/virus exposure. You are your best judge of what is healthy for you. Let me repeat that because it is SO important.
You are the best judge of what is healthy for you.
The best way to learn what makes you feel like crap, and what makes you feel good is to add or remove those foods for 3-4 weeks and reintroduce them. There are definitely foods that are very problematic for many (gluten, dairy, corn, soy for example) but some people have absolutely no issues with any of those. I am super envious of those people! Keep in mind also that what you can tolerate changes based on where you are at in life. For example, I am able to tolerate small amounts of non-GMO corn and soy when I am sleeping well, not stressed and have had a sound fitness and nutrition plan for a length of time. However, if one of those factors is off – I am not able to tolerate corn or soy as well. I will get swollen and sore joints. It is annoying, yet fascinating!
Okay, okay – back to the recipe
So as long as your body is good with beans, add these fiber rich bad boys to the soup pot. Add the remainder of the ingredients including the 2 cans of diced tomatoes, the chopped kale, and the sweet potato. Reduce heat to medium-low.
Cover the soup and let simmer for 25 minutes. I prefer more intense flavor so I allowed this to simmer for about an hour. It was sooooooooo good. I know you will love it too! Feel free to leave a comment below. Let me know what you think!
Happy 4th of July weekend!
| Prep Time | 20 minutes |
| Cook Time | 25 minutes |
| Servings |
people
|
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp garlic or 2-3 cloves
- 1 yellow or sweet onion
- 1 portobello mushroom chopped
- 1 zucchini chopped
- 1 sweet potato washed and cubed
- 3 stalks tuscan (lacinato) kale chopped (stems removed)
- 1 32 ounce container bone broth or sub broth of choice
- 5 cups water
- 2 cups cannellini beans
- 2 cans organic diced tomatoes with garlic and basil
- 1 tbsp oregano
- 1/2 tbsp basil
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp white pepper
Ingredients
|
|
- Add the olive oil, chopped onion, and garlic to a large soup pot over medium high heat. Cook until onions soften.
- Add in the mushrooms, zucchini, spices, and herbs. Toss all ingredients and cook through.
- Add the broth.
- Add 4-5 (I prefer 5) cups of water.
- Add the cannellini beans
- Add diced tomatoes, chopped kale, and sweet potatoes.
- Reduce heat to medium low. Cook for 25 minutes.