Soup of Baby Kales w Potatoes & Chickpeas

Little did I know, when I started this journey 13 months ago that I would grow to love the heartiness of kale. I was never a fan of tough greens and to be perfectly honest, I am still not a fan of raw kale. There are recipes for massaged kale which apparently allow it to lose some of its toughness, but I've never tried making those ... mostly because I'm lazy and also because I'm perfectly happy eating baby spinach in my salad - seven days a week. This soup, comes together in 20-30 minutes, in one-pot, and is loaded with more than 2 pound of greens. I added Seitan and Chick Peas for protein and a potato for starch. 

Soup of Baby Kales w Potatoes and Chickpeas

Prep Time: 20-30 min

Ingredients (Serves 4): 

1. 1 lb Baby Kale (whole)
2. 4 Heads of Baby Bok Choy (~1.1 to 1.2 lbs), sliced
3. 1 x 15oz can of Hunts Fire-Roasted Garlic Diced Tomatoes
4. 1 Russet Potato, diced into small pieces
5. 8 Dry Sun-dried Tomatoes (I buy the Whole foods 365 brand), sliced/diced.
6. 8 oz Cubed Seitan
7. 1 tbsp minced garlic
8. 1 tsp Lawry's Seasoned Salt
9. 1 tsp Cumin
10. 3 tsp Bragg's Liquid Aminos (or Low-Sodium Soy Sauce) 
11. 3 tbsp Nutritional Yeast
12. 6-8 cups of Water, or home-made (no-added-salt) Vegetable Broth
13. Pepper, to taste. 

Directions: 

Line a deep pot with water or vegetable broth and add garlic and seasonings. Once the garlic releases its aroma, add remaining ingredients (except nutritional yeast), bring to a boil and simmer until greens are wilted and potatoes are tender. Mine took about 27 minutes because I added the potatoes last. I only used liquid aminos because I'm trying to finish up my trial bottle. In my opinion, it is very salty. I prefer low-sodium soy sauce. Neither adds any substantial calories so nutritional content remains the same. Sodium content does vary. Once the potatoes are tender, add nutritional yeast and boil for a minute or two. Serve with freshly cracked black pepper. 

My Assessment: I love this soup because it is a very nutrient dense meal, for being only 300 calories. Each serving provides a whopping amount of food, 11 g of fiber and almost 28 g of proteins. The addition of the tomatoes and sun-dried tomatoes together gave the broth a slight 'sweet & sour' flavor which worked perfectly with the kale. Great for leftovers too. 

Nutrition Facts (Per Serving)*: Calories 291

Total Fat 3.3 g; Cholesterol 0 g; Carbohydrates 44.3 g; Fiber 11.1 g; Sugars 13.1 g; Protein 27.7 g

* Nutrition facts are provided for the water option as vegetable broth calorie content can vary tremendously.