Maw Maw Gertie would say, “Lawd, lawd, Ed, ole Dane done made d’gumbo wit out no meat.” I guess my Cajun family would cringe at this recipe, but it is the new gumbo recipe at my house. It has a whole wheat roux, okra and kale. Add a little potato salad, green onions and parsley and oooh weee…it’s some good, yeh! Continue reading Green Gumbo with Potato Salad
I don’t know why I fret over the names of my soups, but naming my soups are so hard. I name them, rename them, and then I forget what I named them. For instance, the other day my mother-in-law asked for some of my delicious immunity soup (meaning this one), but I made her my cream of mushroom soup that I also once called immunity soup. She was so confused because it wasn’t the soup she asked for…I forgot to tell her I rename soup often. So, I’ve made new rules and my new rules are this: when it goes on the bog, the name is official. This soup has been called zucchini and kale soup, creamy vegetable soup, and anti-cancer soup, but from this day forward, it will be called “Creamy Zucchini Immunity Soup” even though it has lots of kale in it. And split peas, lentils, leeks, carrot juice and even celery. I can’t include all that in the name. I named it because I like the long “e” sound at the end of the first three words. I guess it’s the poet in me.
It’s soup time at the Garner house. When the weather gets cold, we always make a huge pot of Sunday soup. Today, I made a pot of my healthy beans and greens soup. This soup is packed with nutrition. There are three types of beans: black beans, kidney beans, and cannellini beans. We all know that silly song that we used to sing as kids…”beans, beans, they’re good for your heart…” Well, I’ll stop there, but the truth is: it’s true. Beans are good for your heart. Actually, just a half of cup of beans per day has been found to lower cholesterol and prevent heart disease. Continue reading Beans and Greens Soup
Potato Soup is the ultimate cold weather comfort food. I woke up this morning freezing and desperately needing a big bowl of potato soup to comfort my soul. The kind of soup a girl from the deep south needs when fall begins to feel like winter. The kind of soup that makes everything feel better. I don’t make potato soup very often because it lacks the nutrient dense punch I get from other soups. The starchy potatoes, milk, and butter tastes so good but leave you with unwanted calories and very few nutrients. A few weeks ago I went on a quest to make all my favorite food nutrient dense. This is one of the recipes I created, and to me, it tastes better than my original recipe with half the calories, half the fat and double the nutrients. You’ve got to try it to believe it. Continue reading Half the Potato You Think I Am Soup
This soup has such a surprising taste. It’s smooth and buttery without using oil, butter or anything unhealthy. When I need a comfort food, something that tastes rich and fattening, this is where I turn. I get my fix without impeding my healthy diet.