Eating for Your Health: Kale

 

Kale is a super healthy and very versatile.  It is high in fiber, vitamin K, vitamin C, vitamin A, calcium, copper, magnesium, iron, potassium, phosphorus, carotenoids and flavonoids reducing the risks of cancer and heart disease.  You can enjoy kale in soups, salads, made into chips, or right by itself.  In fact, one of my favorite ways to eat kale is by itself sauteed in a little olive oil and sprinkled with sea salt.

This kale and white bean soup uses healthy oil and low fat cheese and gets its creaminess from a combination of pureed white beans and nonfat dry milk making it both delicious and healthy.  This is not just any healthy soup, this is really delicious, and you would never know it doesn’t have cream in it.

Kale and White Bean Soup

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Ingredients

• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsps. olive oil
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 2 15.5 oz. cans white beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 cup nonfat dry milk
• 6 oz. coarsely chopped kale, stems removed
• 8 oz. shredded low fat sharp cheddar cheese, plus more to top for serving if desired

Instructions

1. In a large pot, saute garlic in olive oil just until garlic becomes fragrant.
2. Stir in vegetable broth and beans.
3. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes.
4. Stir in nonfat dry milk.
5. Using an immersion blender, blend until about half of the beans are pureed. You could also blend about half the soup mixture in a conventional blender.
6. Stir in kale and cook until all is hot and kale is wilted.
7. Stir in cheese.
8. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
9. Serve immediately with more cheese to top if desired.

Source:  WebMd