This Soup is low in saturated fat and cholesterol.  It is a great source of dietary fiber, protein, vitamins and minerals (thiamin, riboflavin, folate, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, Vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K, vitamin B6, calcium, potassium, copper and manganese).  The base of the soup is a Vegetable broth, so this is vegan and gluten free as well. You can make the broth the night before leaving the vegetables and then reheating the next day and removing the vegetables. Soaking the vegetables overnight will deepen the broth flavor.  Start soaking the beans overnight until you need them in the afternoon the next day.

For a twist:  For kids, you can add cooked pasta or rice into your bowl, or have a toasted baguette on the side for dipping. You can also sprinkle a little bit of parmesan over the top.  If you want a little spicy kick, you could make an oil to drizzle over it (I’ve included it below). Greeks will add lemon to the soup in their bowl, I haven’t tried it yet myself but I enjoy lemon in my chicken soup.

Some tricks with cooking beans, I soak the beans overnight in salt water. This tenderizes the skin a little bit more. You can mash the soup a bit with a potatoe masher or put about 1/3 of the beans in a food processor and then add it back to the soup, doing either of these makes the soup broth silky. The kale, after deveining it,  I left the leaves soaking in leukewarm water and salt (a brine), to wash off the residual pesticides/fungicide on the leaves. It’s virtually impossible to grow kale without treatment (my dad grew kale and he is as organic as they come, he couldn’t avoid alittle spray otherwise, he’d have no crop).

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