White Bean & Kale Soup/Stew

For those of you who don’t know, I have 2 children – Ava, 10 and Jacob, 7.  Jacob actually ENJOYS healthy foods. He loves fruits and vegetables and most of the healthy fare I create. Ava, on the other hand, could never eat a fruit or vegetable again for the rest of her life and not think twice. She doesn’t DISlike them, but doesn’t look forward to them either.

Everytime I try out a new healthy recipe, I have 3 markers to gauge it’s success – Brian (my hubs), Ava & Jake.

Getting the thumbs up from Brian is the easiest. He likes the majority of healthy dishes I serve.

Getting the A-OK from Jacob is tougher, but I can win his approval somewhat easily.

Getting Ava to approve, however, is much more of a challenge. When she says she likes one of my dishes I feel like I’ve won the lottery!

Why am I telling you all of this?

Because I’m about to share a recipe with you that is not only Ava approved, but Ava preferred!

She absolutely loves my white bean and kale soup/stew. It actually shocked me because of all dishes, I never thought one with kale, beans, and quinoa in it would even come close to being a hit.

But the bottom line is that when she asks what’s for dinner and I tell her it’s ‘my yummy healthy soup’ I get a passionate “YES!” from her.

What I especially love about this soup is that it has quinoa in it which makes it hearty. I like to pair it with a side salad and voila! Dinner is served!

So without further ado, I present:

(Ava Approved) White Bean & Kale Soup/Stew

Ingredients:

  • 1 Tablepoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 3 stalks celery, chopped
  • 1 cup carrots, chopped (about 3-4 medium carrots)
  • 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 cup dry quinoa (make sure to rinse it)
  • 3 cups water
  • 5 cups chicken broth (You can also use vegetable broth)
  • Two 15-ounce cans cannellini beans (white kidney beans),
  • One large bunch kale (I usually use an entire pre packed plastic container they sell in the supermarkets), deveined and torn into pieces
  • 1/4 cup almond milk, optional (can also use regular milk or heavy cream)
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon celery powder
  • Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions:

  1. In a sauté pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat for one minute.
  2. Add the onions, carrots, and celery and cook for about 4 to 5 minutes, or until onions are softened.  Stir constantly.
  3. Add the garlic and cook for another minute, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat and set aside.
  4. Meanwhile, in a large pot add the the water, chicken broth, and quinoa and bring to a boil.
  5. Add the cooked vegetables to boiling water/broth.  Reduce the heat to medium-low and let simmer for about 30 minutes.
  6. Add the beans, kale, almond milk, celery powder, and onion powder and cook, stirring frequently, until the kale is wilted, about 10-15 minutes.  Feel free to add more broth if you like a thinner consistency.
  7. Add salt and pepper to your liking.