White Bean, Kale, and Mushroom Soup
I first started my cooking and true health journey in 2016 when I lived on my own for the first time. I was cooking for the first time so I needed something easy. I needed a ton of leftovers because graduate school left little spare time, and I also needed something CHEAP. One of my first recipes I cooked over and over again was a white bean and kale soup, and it is still one of my absolute favorites.
Of course, my recipe has evolved over the years as I’ve made my own tweaks to it. My body really craved a hot, warm soup during the icy weather this week, and this recipe hit. the. SPOT.
Not only that, but this soup absolutely packed with nutrients, it takes pretty much no time to prepare because most of the ingredients are canned or pre-cut, it feeds an entire family, and it costs less than $20 to make. It’s light and detoxing, warming for the body in this cold weather, and so beneficial for the immune system to help fight off any sort of sinus symptoms you might be having like me right now!
I hope that you can make this with your family or for yourself, and if you do, please let me know what you think!
Nutrition:
Garlic and onions: Garlic is so powerful in it shutting down inflammatory pathways in the body that it has shown to act similarly to NSAID medications. (1) This is due to the phytonutrients quercetin and allicin, which break down in the body to produce sulfenic acid, a free-radical fighting chemical. (1) Onions also contain these properties! (1)
Avocado: Technically a fruit, avocado is loaded with fiber (4.6 grams/avocado!) to help keep you regular, vitamins A, C, E, K, B6, Folate, and potassium and magnesium. (2) It is also a an excellent source of monounsaturated fatty acids (71% of the avocado), which enhance vitamin absorption in the body and help to normalize lipid levels in the blood (2), as well as (as I just heard on a podcast today) helps to increase insulin sensitivity in type II diabetics. Monounsaturated fats are extremely nutrient dense and easier to digest than other fats, and also help to rejuvenate the skin. (3)
Mushrooms: I could talk all day about the benefits of mushrooms, as they are so wonderful and powerful! Interestingly, research showed that when a group of people who added cooked mushrooms into their regular diet every day for one week, they had a 50% boost of IgA, which is the antibody that is the first line of defense against an infection. (4) Cooked mushrooms are easier to break down in the body, as raw mushrooms contain a polysaccharide called chitin, which is not easily digested. (5) Mushrooms do keep their nutrients as they are cooked though, especially copper and potassium. (5)
Kale: Kale is an excellent source of antioxidants, as well as being high in a plant chemical called glucosinolates, which has cancer-fighting and heart-protecting properties. (6) Kale itself has more than calcium than 6 ounces of milk (which doesn’t have as much calcium as you’d think!), and more fiber than three slices of whole wheat bread combined. (6) In a test tube study, kale extracts have blocked off the proliferation of six different types of human cancer cells. (6) While cooking kale will tend to leach off some of the nutrients, you can lightly wilt it for the best nutrient retention and easier digestion. (6) However, the leached vitamins will go into the water, so you are still obtaining them in this yummy soup!
Tomato: Just for fun: Arkansas (where I live) is the only state that has declared tomatoes the official state fruit and vegetable, which I feel sums our state up perfectly! Tomatoes are most famous for their lycopene content, which is the phytochemical in tomatoes that are responsible for its red color. A study of just under one thousand elderly men and women found that people who ate tomatoes daily had half the odds of depression versus a group that ate them just one tomato a week. (7) This is due to the extreme antioxidant properties of lycopene! Talk about powerful! You can pair tomatoes with a healthy fat (helloooo avocados) for increased absorption of lycopene into the body.
Makes: 6-7 servings
Time to make: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
2 tbsps avocado oil
1 yellow onion diced
4 cloves garlic minced
8 ounce container pre-sliced shiitake mushrooms (chop further into smaller pieces if mushroom texture is an issue for you)
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon Himalayan Sea salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
32 ounce carton of no salt vegetable broth (I am obsessed with Bonafide)
14.5 ounce can no salt added cannelloni beans, rinsed and drained
14.5 ounce can no salt added fire roasted diced, liquid slightly drained off
1 bunch stemmed and finely chopped curly leaf kale
Toppings: for a bit more sustenance and to add in some add healthy fats, I always top my soups with avocado. I also love Siete chips as the perfect side. They use avocado oil instead of sunflower, safflower, or canola oil, which can be very inflammatory to the body. They are also grain free and I love the story behind their company!
Recipe:
Finely chop onion, mince the garlic, and rinse/finely chop the kale so that they are ready to go!
Sauté chopped onion in the avocado oil in a large pot on medium heat for 5 minutes, mixing every few minutes.
Add in the garlic, parsley, oregano, salt, and pepper and sauté for 3 more minutes.
Add in the mushrooms and stir occasionally for 5 minutes.
Add in vegetable broth, bringing soup to a boil. Rinse and drain your beans and tomatoes as the soup is coming to a boil.
Once boiling, bring to a low heat and add in canned beans, canned tomatoes, and kale.
Stir for 3-5 minutes, then serve warm and keep as leftovers for up to 3 days.
When eating, send out gratitude to the farmers who grew the food, the grocery workers to stocked the foods, and to yourself, for preparing a meal for your family and taking care of your mind and body in the act of cooking!
Please let me know how you like it, I love the feedback!
XO, B
References:
1) Three Brains, Karen Jensen ND, 2016
2) Dreher ML, Davenport AJ. Hass avocado composition and potential health effects. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2013;53(7):738-750. doi:10.1080/10408398.2011.556759
3) Snyder K. The Beauty Detox Foods: Discover the Top 50 Beauty Foods That Will Transform Your Body and Reveal a More Beautiful You. North Sydney, NSW: Harlequin Enterprises; 2013.
4) Greger M, Stone G. How Not to Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease. London: Pan Books; 2018.
5) Pasqualina R. Kitchen Teaching Laboratory. [Canvas]. Tempe, AZ: SCNM Masters in Clinical Nutrition Program; 2022.
6) Robinson J. Eating on the Wild Side: The Missing Link to Optimum Health. New York: Little Brown & Co; 2014.
7) Niu K, Guo H, Kakizaki M, et al. A tomato-rich diet is related to depressive symptoms among an elderly population aged 70 years and over: a population-based, cross-sectional analysis. J Affect Disord. 2013;144(1-2):165-170. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2012.04.040