Nutrition Coach Online

Impromptu Minestrone

September 5th, 2008

If you are one of my clients, you know I’m a huge fan of having a well stocked pantry to facilitate quick and easy meals. This is what I made for lunch today with plenty of leftovers for future quick and easy meals!

4 cups chicken broth
15 ounce can of red kidney beans
1/4 cup dehydrated kale (see notes below)
1 carrot, sliced
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 tablespoon of Italian seasoning
2 tablespoons tamari
dash cayenne
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup penne pasta

Combine all ingredients except the pasta in a large stock pot over high heat. Bring to a boil and then add the pasta. Reduce heat and simmer for 8 minutes.

I like to serve it with a nice piece of whole grain bread spread with butter. Yum!

Serves: 8
Time: 15 minutes

NOTES: I like to dehyrate my kale so that there is no prep time when I add it to recipes. You can substitute 4 torn leaves of fresh kale in this recipe until you have your own stock of dehydrated kale.

To dehydrate kale, rinse fresh leaves. De-stem by holding kale by the stem, then run your hand down the stem pulling the leaf away. Tear into small pieces and place into your dehydrator. Remove when they crumble easily in your hand (Depending on dehydrator, 4-6 hours). Crumble into small pieces and store in the pantry for future “fast food”.

Entry Filed under: Food, Recipes