White Bean and Kale Soup Recipe

     Cooler weather calls for warmer meals, and that is just one of the many reasons why I love fall! I love being able to cuddle up in a blanket, drinking coffee and reading....Watching the leaves fall outside in the crisp air and being warm and cozy inside! With the weather (finally) cooling off here, I am getting excited about making more warm and cozy meals like this soup recipe I am sharing today!

 

     I haven't always been a fan of vegetable soups, especially ones with kale in them, but as I have grown, but taste buds have matured! Now I love all kind of soups with all kinds of vegetables( including kale!).  Soups are perfect for easy dinner ideas, healthy meals and they even make delicious lunches! Whenever and however you choose to eat soup, I know you will enjoy this recipe!

      This soup is vegan, dairy-free, oil-free and gluten-free! Its super simple and yet so full of flavor and textures! Make this soup on those chilly fall evenings and serve it with some fresh homemade bread!

Ingredients:

1 Yellow Onion- Diced

1 cup Chopped Carrots

1 TBS Garlic- minced

1 1/3 cup Quinoa

1 can Diced Tomatoes

2 cans White Northen Beans

9 cups Veggie Broth

2 cups Chopped Kale

2 tsp Oregano

1 tsp Thyme

1 tsp Parsley

1 tsp Ground Mustard

Salt

Pepper


     First, get all the veggies chopped. Heat up a pot on the stove and add in the onions. I prefer to do this without any oil, but you can add some in if you wish. Cook until the onions begin to soften.

Next, add in the carrots and garlic. Saute for about a minute before adding in the seasonings.

(Sorry for the picture quality! My camera  was getting foggy from the steam!)

     Saute the seasonings for a few seconds before adding in the quinoa, tomatoes and beans. MAKE SURE TO DRAIN AND RINSE YOUR BEANS. It makes a huge differnce in the taste of the soup as well as your digestion later!

     Cook to warm everything through and then add in the broth. I added all but 1 cup of the veggie broth at first and reserved the last cup for the end. Bring the broth to a boil , add in the kale and reduce to a simmer.

     Cook for 25-30 minutes at a simmer or until the quinoa is fully cooked. The quinoa will absorb quite a bit of the broth, so you might want to add more broth at the end( I added my reserved 1 cup).

 

     Isn't it pretty? Its so colorful looking! You can serve the soup right away, or let it cool down and put it in the fridge of a few days or even freeze it for a few months! Its never a bad idea to have soup in the freezer for those days when you don't feel like cooking!

We ate the soup right away with some delicious bread! It would also be great with some crackers or cornbread! I loved this white bean and kale soup and so did my family! Its perfect for families because it is easy to make, full of fiber and veggies and taste amazing!

     I hope you try out this recipe and that you love it as much as I did! I really cannot wait to make it again! This is a great recipe to share with you friends and family, so pass it along so that everyone can have a delicious soup recipe this Fall!

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Hannah

Roasted Honey Carrots for Easter

  Spring is just about here and Easter is just a couple of days away! When I think of Easter, I think carrot cake, carrot muffins, honey ham, bunnies, hot cross buns, chicks and so on. When I went looking for healthy Easter recipes, they were just about all Carrot Cake, Carrot Muffins or some sort of sweet. They are all great, amazing looking recipes and I really don't think you could want any more Easter Sweet Recipes!

    My sister and I have started a 3 week long Cleanse, so we can't really enjoy any of those delicious Easter treats right now. But I still wanted to make something tasty for the holiday that we could enjoy and still stick to our cleanse, so I decided to make one of my favorite dishes. Honey Roasted Carrots!

  These roasted baby carrots are a perfect side dish for Easter dinner or any other meal! They are sweet and savory with the honey and herbs and they get roasted to perfection! So, lets make some honey roasted carrots!

Ingredients:
4 cups Baby Carrots (Or you can roughly chop up the regular size carrots)
4 TBS Olive Oil
3-4 TBS Honey
1 TSP Rosemary Leaves
2 TSP Ground Rosemary
1 TSP Onion Powder
Salt and Pepper

Lay out your carrots into a baking pan. I am using a 9x13 pan so that I can lay the carrots out flat.

  Sprinkle them with the olive oil, honey, salt and pepper and onion powder. Then add the rosemary leaves and ground rosemary. I like to use both ground rosemary and the leaves to get flavor and a great presentation!  Use a spoon to mix every thing together, making sure to get every piece of carrot coated in honey and olive oil.

  Put them in an oven set to 400 F for 30-45 minutes. You will want to stir them every 20 minutes or so to get an even roasting. When they are done they will be soft and beginning to crisp in places. Take them out of the oven and let cool for a few minutes before serving.

They smell so amazing and they will make the house smell nice too! I can't tell you how much I love these roasted carrots!

 

I made these and served them for dinner along with a few other dishes!

 

    Be on the look out for a post about the Oven Roasted Peppers and Onions!
The carrots were a great addition to our family dinner and I think they will be for yours as well! Whether you make them for Easter or another meal, these Honey Roasted Carrots are sure to be a hit!

Please share this post with a friend and be sure to check back for more healthy recipes, tips, motivation and information!

Keep Healthy and Safe!
H.Banana

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Lentil Soup Recipe

  This is one of the soups we had on our Cleanse and is by far one of our favorites. I know several family members (Including me!) went back for seconds!

This is super easy to make and is totally delicious!

Ingredients:
6-8 cups of Chicken Broth (We used homemade)
4 stacks of celery
1 1/2 cup of Red Lentils
2 cups carrots
2 TBS minced garlic
2 TBS dried parsley
2 TBS olive oil
1 TSP white wine vinegar
2 TSP onion powder
Salt and Pepper to taste
(Optional) 2 cups water. (Add this if the soup is too thick for your preference.)

Begin with washing and chopping the celery stacks and carrots.

 

Chop the celery in to little chunks.

Do the same with the carrots.

 

Bring the chicken broth(and water, if you are using it) to a soft boil.

 

Add celery, carrots and lentils to the pot and stir to combine.

 

Next, add olive oil, white wine vinegar, garlic, onion powder, dried parsley, and salt and pepper. Stir to combine.

 

 

Let this cook on medium heat for 25-30 minutes. Serve hot with some whole grain bread!

 

I hope you like this soup as much as we did! I know I will be making it again this winter!

 

 

 

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Keep healthy and SAFE!

H. Banana