If you are new around here, you will soon notice that I am all about no-FUSS healthy living. Too many times, we utter a goal to live a healthier life by eating better, but within a few weeks of scratching the goal down in a journal, we fall into processed food oblivion.
I am happy that you are here on this page so that I can share my tips on cultivating a lifestyle approach to healthy living. One way to guarantee that you provide healthy meals for you and your family is to plan easy meals throughout the week and leave a more complicated recipe for the weekend.
The goals in no-FUSS healthy living are to enjoy your food and table fellowship and eat real food.
How This Sausage-Kale Soup Cultivates a No-FUSS Lifestyle of Healthy Living:
- it contains ingredients gifted to us in Creation
- the recipe is simple
- uses commonly stored pantry and frig ingredients
- offers a combination of naturally derived sweet and savory flavors
- make it ahead of schedule for those busy weeknights (Ahhh…)
- freezable so that you can double the recipe and keep one for yourself and one to share
- You can alter the recipe to suit your palate by switching Italian sausage for a spicy brand, add carrots if you want a sweeter soup, instead of kale, add arugula. Strengthen your culinary moxie.
Sausage-Kale Soup (serves 4)
Double the recipe and serve for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
1 lb. sweet Italian Sausage (turkey or pork)
2 Tbsp of coconut oil
1 Cup chopped sweet onion
2 garlic cloves, chopped
4-5 Yukon Gold Potatoes or sweet potatoes, cut into small bite-sized pieces
4 cups of no-sugar-added chicken stock or chicken bone broth (my preference)
1 28 oz BPA-free canned of diced tomatoes, drained
1 tsp. sea salt
1⁄2 tsp of black pepper
4-5 cups of fresh kale, torn into bite-sized pieces
The Cooking
Add the sausage to a food processor and process until crumbled. In a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, add the oil, then the crumbled meat. Cook the meat until it browns (4-5 minutes). Add the onion and garlic, cook, until the onion softens.
Then add the chicken stock, stirring constantly. Add the tomatoes, potatoes, salt, and pepper and cook on medium-low heat until the potatoes are tender.
Stir-Ins
Stir in the kale and cook on low heat until the kale softens (approximately 1 -2 minutes)
Make It a Complete Meal
Add a seasonal salad to this soup. Download my salad grid to help you build a salad with greens and crunch.
Kitchen Notes:
Using homemade chicken bone broth increases the nutritional value of the soup. Homemade bone broth is simple to make in large batches.
Look for tomatoes in BPA free cans.
Paleo option: Use sweet potatoes instead of white potatoes
Kitchen Equipment
You don’t need a fancy kitchen to cook great tasting real food. However, you do need a few basic tools that can help you create savory dishes. One of those most valuable pieces of kitchen equipment is the Dutch oven. In my opinion, it is the crowning glory of kitchen equipment. Le Creuset is the most frequently used pot in my kitchen. The initial investment of purchasing a Dutch oven seems daunting, but you will find it is worth the price.
Cooks Illustrated tested several Dutch ovens to determine the “best” Dutch oven on the market. Their extensive kitchen testing found that Le Creuset outperformed other Dutch ovens while the Cuisinart Chef’s Classic Enameled Cast Iron Covered Casserole came in as the economical favorite.
The Lodge
Le Creuset
