Kale, Tomato And Quinoa Soup

Posted 5 years ago by Danielle Winstone

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Popeye was on to a very good thing, but he shouldn’t have stopped with spinach. He should have also included kale. One cup of kale contains three times as much zeaxanthin and lutein as spinach, and over 200% of the daily recommended intake of vitamin A- all important nutrients for vision.

Health-promoting phytonutrients in kale have been gaining attention for their powerful effects on eye health. Carotenoids—natural plant pigments absorb blue light. Kale is especially abundant in two carotenoids, lutein and zeaxanthin, both of which act like sunglass filters and help prevent damage to the eyes from excessive exposure to ultraviolet light. Studies have show eating lutein-rich foods like kale lowers the risk cataracts and diseases such as macula degeneration.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed thoroughly

2 cans diced tomatoes

1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

1 onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

2 bay leaves

4 cups vegetable stock

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1/2 kilogram kale, coarsely chopped

DIRECTIONS:

Place quinoa, tomatoes, beans, onion,  garlic, oregano, basil, rosemary, thyme and bay leaves into a slow cooker. Stir in vegetable stock and 2 cups water until well combined; season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Cover and cook on low heat for 7-8 hours or high heat for 3-4 hours. Stir in kale until wilted.

Serve immediately.

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