Garlic Kale Sweet Potato Soup Recipe

This Garlic Kale Sweet Potato Soup Recipe was developed by the nutrition staff at Nutricare - St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ann Arbor, MI.

2 1/2 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 1/2 tsp. dried Italian herb seasoning
6 cups vegetable broth
2 (15 oz) cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 lb sweet potatoes, scrubbed and diced
4 oz. kale, tough stems removed, chopped coursely (about 4 cups)
12 garlic cloves (I've added a few more but it's up to your taste)
salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat oil in soup pot over medium heat. Add onion and Italia herb seasoning; saute until
onions are soft and golden, about 6 minutes
2. Stir in broth, beans, sweet potatoes, and kale; bring just to a boil. Reduce heat to low
and simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Add garlic to simmer soup base. Simmer until sweet potatoes and greens are tender.
About 15 - 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Yield: 6 servings (1 1/2 cup each)

It is scrumptious with these ingredients just as written. I know I'll be making this soup over and over and over again. In addition, this soup recipe is very adaptable so many other ingredients could be added, such as canned tomatoes, left-over rice, tofu, other vegetables, etc.

This recipe freezes well, so make up a double batch to have some delicious and healthy food ready for your own home-made and inexpensive "fast food".

Where kale is more than decoration on my plate!

Diana Dyer, MS, RD

Another Simple Supper - Rapini and Pasta

So many things to do during the holiday season, including shoveling our first snowfall of the season today. Here is one easy way to keep fueled with delicious and healthy foods, including a relative of kale called rapini, that are a snap to make for supper.

I purchased a large bunch of fresh, locally grown rapini (sometimes called broccolini) at our local farmers market this morning grown by Jonathan and Karlene Goetz of Riga, MI, in their hoop houses. I always look but usually pass by the tiny bunch of rapini at the grocery store, shipped from California, that sells for $3.99, but this enormous bunch was only $2.00. Karlene assured me that they would be showing up every week during the winter, and I assured her that I was a "regular" and would also show up to purchase fresh greens all winter long. Now that is a relationship that is truly "Made in Michigan!"

(Photo: Rapini, also known as broccolini)

Ingredients:
• 6-8 ounces of whole wheat pasta (made by a local company called Pastabilities)
• 1/2 large bunch rapini, washed and cut into pieces (about 4 cups fresh)
• 3-4 roasted tomato halves (frozen last fall, thawed just a bit and cut into small pieces - canned, drained tomato pieces will also do here, saving the juice for something else)
• 1 small stalk of fresh rosemary - snip the leaves off
• 2 'ice cubes' of garlic scape pesto, thawed (my husband makes this recipe and freezes it for use all winter - any pesto will do)

Directions:
1) steam the rapini for just a few minutes using a steamer basket - do not overcook
2) cook pasta until still al dente, drain well
3) combine cooked pasta in large serving bowl with pesto, tomato pieces, rapini, and rosemary leaves
4) toss to distribute all ingredients

Serve with additional freshly grated hard cheese (not really necessary), fresh crusty bread, and a salad, if desired. Also very good and filling all by itself. These amounts made enough for 2 very hearty servings with one serving left over for lunch tomorrow, which will be very tasty to eat either warmed up or chilled.

(Photo: Rapini and Pasta - the only ingredient I cannot see is the fresh rosemary leaves)

Where kale and delicious relatives like rapini are more than decoration on my plate!

Diana Dyer, MS, RD

Simple Kale Supper

Based on my last post regarding cooking techniques, I decided to try steaming kale instead of stir-frying for this recipe it in order to retain as many healthful molecules as possible.

I love just looking in my refrigerator and cleaning out ingredients to come up with something tasty, healthy, and easy for supper. This "Simple Kale Supper" fits that bill.

(Photo: Kale from our community garden - almost too beautiful to eat!)

Ingredients:
• large bunch of kale, chop
• bunch green onions, slice
• 1 large tomato, small dice
• ~1/2# firm tofu, drain, pat dry, cut into 1-inch cubes
• brown rice (Use left-over rice in the refrig if you have it ! If you don't, start a large amount before you start chopping your other ingredients).
• ~1 Tbsp. oil for stir-frying vegetables and tofu.
• Optional sauces: soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, peanut sauce, sweet-sour sauce.

Special note: These ingredients are what I had available. Use what you have: for instance you might have a small amount of left over chicken, beef, fish, or even some dried beans, in addition to many other little bits of fresh vegetables you wish to use up. You may have some left-over pasta or grains of some type instead of needing to cook up some rice. I have even served stir-fried vegetables over torn up toast pieces in order to use up a loaf of bread. Be creative - don't feel beholden to my recipe!

Directions:
1) Start the rice cooking if that is what you are going to serve the vegetables over. I admit to just loving my rice steamer. I can get the rice started, plan on finishing up the recipe in ~1 hour and then forget the rice. No worries about having it overcooked or undercooked.

(Photo: Rice Steamer)

2) Drain, pat dry and chop the tofu.
3) Chop your vegetables

(Photo: Tofu and vegetables chopped and ready to go)

4) About 15 minutes before your rice steamer is finished, steam the kale in a steamer just until wilted and tender (no more than 5 minutes). Save the water in the bottom of the steamer for soup broth later in the week. Or freeze for use at some future date.

(Photo: Vegetable steamer - I love this gadget!)

5) About 5 minutes before your rice cooker is ready to "ding", start heating the oil in your wok or pan for stir-frying the tofu and vegetables. Quickly stir-fry the vegetables and tofu until the tofu is browned and the vegetables are hot. Add the steamed kale, stir to distribute evenly.

6) Spoon ~1 cup of the rice on each plate and split the vegetables and tofu in half and distribute over the rice. (I will put extra rice into freezer bags to have for a quick supper (i.e., my own fast food) in the future).

7) These ingredients as pictured served two hearty dinners. Increase amount of tofu and vegetables for more servings or for left-overs to have for lunch tomorrow.

(Photo: Simple Kale Supper)

Steaming the kale is an extra step, but not really excessively time-consuming. It does result in one additional pan and the steamer that need to be washed, but they are easy enough to do by hand without even taking space in the dishwasher.

Simple, easy, healthy, beautiful and you cleaned out your refrigerator without any delicious and costly vegetables going "slimy" and into the compost pile.

Where kale is more than decoration on my plate!

Diana Dyer, MS, RD

What's in kale and how to keep it there!

(Photo: Fall harvested kale from our community garden, multiple curly varieties)

A reader recently asked a good question about which cooking methods cause the most loss of nutrients in kale; specifically he was wondering about the relative benefits of raw versus steamed kale. Reading a number of research studies investigating this question in Brassica vegetables shows a variety of answers. However, here are abstracts from two recent articles:

(1) Journal of Zhejiang University SCIENCE B, 2009 Vol. 10(8):580~588, Yuan GF, Sun B, Yuan J, Wang QM. Effects of different cooking methods on health-promoting compounds of broccoli.

The effects of five domestic cooking methods, including steaming, microwaving, boiling, stir-frying, and stir-frying followed by boiling (stir-frying/boiling), on the nutrients and health-promoting compounds of broccoli were investigated. The results show that all cooking treatments, except steaming, caused significant losses of chlorophyll and vitamin C and significant decreases of total soluble proteins and soluble sugars. Total aliphatic and indole glucosinolates were significantly modified by all cooking treatments but not by steaming.

In general, the steaming led to the lowest loss of total glucosinolates, while stir-frying and stir-frying/boiling presented the highest loss. Stir-frying and stir-frying/boiling, the two most popular methods for most homemade dishes in China, cause great losses of chlorophyll, soluble protein, soluble sugar, vitamin C, and glucosinolates, but the steaming method appears the best in retention of the nutrients in cooking broccoli (I suspect the same will be true for kale and other Brassica vegetables).

This next abstract shows the many points between raw, cooking, consumption, and absorption that influence the potential outcome for health-promotion from eating Brassica vegetables.

(2) Proc Nutr Soc. 2007 Feb;66(1):69-81. Effect of cooking brassica vegetables on the subsequent hydrolysis and metabolic fate of glucosinolates. Rungapamestry V, Duncan AJ, Fuller Z, Ratcliffe B.

The protective effects of brassica vegetables against cancer may be partly related to their glucosinolate content. Glucosinolates are hydrolysed by plant myrosinase following damage of plant tissue. Isothiocyanates are one of the main groups of metabolites of glucosinolates and are implicated in the preventive effect against cancer. During cooking of brassica the glucosinolate-myrosinase system may be modified as a result of inactivation of plant myrosinase, loss of enzymic cofactors such as epithiospecifier protein, thermal breakdown and/or leaching of glucosinolates and their metabolites or volatilisation of metabolites. Cooking brassica affects the site of release of breakdown products of glucosinolates, which is the upper gastrointestinal tract following consumption of raw brassica containing active plant myrosinase. After consumption of cooked brassica devoid of plant myrosinase, glucosinolates are hydrolysed in the colon under the action of the resident microflora. Feeding trials with human subjects have shown that hydrolysis of glucosinolates and absorption of isothiocyanates are greater following ingestion of raw brassica with active plant myrosinase than after consumption of the cooked plant with denatured myrosinase. The digestive fate of glucosinolates may be further influenced by the extent of cell rupture during ingestion, gastrointestinal transit time, meal composition, individual genotype and differences in colonic microflora.

Bottom Line? Enjoy all varieties of kale and other Brassica vegetables using all methods of preparation, however, it seems prudent to consume as much as possible either raw (well-chewed or put into a smoothie) or lightly steamed to maximize their cancer-fighting potential.

Where kale is more than decoration on my plate!

Diana Dyer, MS, RD

Recipe: Eggs with Kale

There is no real shopping list for this recipe. If you have some kale and eggs in the house (or backyard), I am sure you also have enough other vegetables to fill up a pan and whip up this supper, breakfast, lunch, or snack in a jiffy!

I love just looking in the refrigerator, the pantry, the freezer, or even the backyard (or our community garden) to see what I have available to make a quick meal. Although I do enjoy eating "fancy food" and do regularly try new recipes from cookbooks, I don't often cook gourmet recipes from cookbooks, magazines, or TV shows. I guess I prefer eating what are called "rustic" dishes, but I also do have a fully stocked pantry of staples such as brown rice both on the shelf ready to cook but usually also in the freezer already cooked and ready to quickly thaw to complete my own "fast food" meals.

In this case, I had been recently thinking about the recipes I remembered that were included in the book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. One of my favorites was a quick and easy one called something like "eggs in a nest" (that may be correct or simply paraphrasing). In any case, it was easy, delicious, and fast, and apparently memorable!

Here are my ingredients as pictured:

• large handful of kale (about 5-6 medium leaves), washed, large tough stems removed, and then cut into strips
• two handfuls of fingerling potatoes, washed, steamed, and then diced
• 1 roasted red pepper, cut into big chunks
• medium handful of flat parley leaves, washed, dried, and chopped coarsely
• very large handful of green onions, whites and greens chopped (probably 2-3 bunches)
• 2-3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 4 eggs (use more if desired)
• Olive oil, enough only to coat the pan (I used my large cast-iron skillet)
• Smoked paprika for shaking over eggs when done


Directions:
• Pour small amount of olive oil into skillet, heat over medium high
• Add garlic and white part of onions, cook until just starting to sizzle and the aroma in the room is intoxicating (just a few minutes)
• Add all other vegetables, stir around in oil, cook for a few minutes until kale is just starting to wilt
• Spread vegetables out evenly into pan, make little depressions in the vegetable medley for the number of eggs you are using
• Break one egg into each depression
• Cover and turn down heat to medium and cook until eggs whites and yolks are done as you like them (this might take 10-15 minutes)
• Sprinkle the eggs with smoked paprika for a lovely smoky, bacon-like flavor and a beautiful color
• If your cast-iron pan is well seasoned, the servings will just slip out with a spatula onto a plate.
• Serve with cooked brown rice or toast, fresh green salad, or fresh fruit for a filling meal.

(Photo: Kale vegetable medley with eggs in their "nests")

(Photo: lid on to help steam the vegetables and eggs)

(Photo: Eggs with Kale, sprinkled with smoked paprika, all ready to serve and eat!)

With kale and eggs in your refrigerator or out your back door, cooking does not get much easier than this. Enjoy - yum, yum!

Where kale is more than decoration on my plate!

Diana Dyer, MS, RD

Recipe: Brassica "Tri-fecta" Stir Fry

(Photo: Brassica "Tri-fecta" Stir Fry)

Remember in a previous post that I mentioned I made a stir-fry dish using three different types of Brassica vegetables: red cabbage, baby bok choy, and yellow cauliflower? It was beautiful, easy, and tasty. I think this recipe might be called the Brassica "Tri-fecta" Stir-fry!

Because I always have several Brassica vegetables on hand, this dish really became a way to simply use up what was hanging out in the refrigerator. The baby bok choy had been picked from our garden, and the yellow cauliflower and red cabbage had come from Tantré Farm, one of our area's local organic farms. Thus chopping up those vegetables, adding some onion, garlic, and whatever else might be available to throw in the wok or skillet is an easy supper. I added some firm tofu and served over the mixture rice. Any seasoning could be added, and I chose some sweet curry.

I'm sorry that the yellow cauliflower does not really show up well in the stir-fry photo. It is shaped like regular white cauliflower but is a beautiful soft shade of yellow. The flavor is milder than white cauliflower, but an advantage is the higher level of health-promoting molecules called carotenoids, of which beta-carotene (pre-vitamin A) is just one. Here is what it will look like at your local farmers' market or grocery store. Buy it the next time you are shopping for a new way to include your Brassica vegetables.


All Brassica vegetables are "winners", no need to think about which are the top three for a true "tri-fecta". So choose any from the list on the right side of my blog for your next easy, healthy, and delicious stir-fry dinner! Be sure to make enough to have for lunch the next day, too. Stir-fry recipes may seem time-consuming due to the amount of chopping, but here is the perfect place to enlist the help of your family members. Start your evening "catch-up" conversation at the counter-top instead of waiting for the table-top!

Where kale is more than decoration on my plate!

Diana Dyer, MS, RD

Research: Eat your broccoli and eat some raw

Mom Was Right: Eat Your Broccoli and eat at least some of it raw. Why?

Two studies published this year help us both understand how one of the important molecules we obtain from broccoli (and other Brassica vegetables like kale and all those listed on the right side of this blog) helps optimize our health and also how to maximize the level in our body.

(1) The first study (Oral sulforaphane increases Phase II antioxidant enzymes in the human upper airway. Clin Immunol. 2009 Mar;130(3):244-51. Riedl MA, Saxon A, Diaz-Sanchez D) found that the molecule sulforaphane increases enzymes that cut inflammation in our respiratory system that have been linked to increased risk of allergic rhinits, asthma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This was a human study that used varying doses of broccoli sprouts or alfalfa sprouts to test responses of various enzymes involved in these processes. The broccoli sprouts showed significant increase (~2-3 fold increase over baseline levels) in these detoxifying enzymes while the alfalfa sprouts showed no response.

(2) The second study (Bioavailability and kinetics of sulforaphane in humans after consumption of cooked versus raw broccoli, J Agric Food Chem. 2008 Nov 26;56(22):10505-9. Vermeulen M, Klöpping-Ketelaars IW, van den Berg R, Vaes WH) aimed to determine the bio-availability and kinetics (how fast it is metabolized) of sulforaphane from raw and cooked broccoli.

When consuming 200 grams of raw or cooked broccoli (approx 1/2 pound) with a warm meal, this study shows that consumption of raw broccoli results in faster absorption, higher bio-availability (37% versus 3.4%), and higher peak plasma amounts of sulforaphane, compared to cooked broccoli.

I will still consume some cooked broccoli (quickly stir-fried or very lightly steamed, in each case so the broccoli is still crunchy), but these studies add to data from other studies that at least some of these vegetables that we consume should be raw (and chewed well since that is a necessary step in the release of the sulforaphane molecule, thus developing maximum levels of sulforaphane to be absorbed into our body).

However, variety, variety, variety are still key for both types of foods to eat and preparation methods. It is well accepted that some nutrients or phytochemicals are better absorbed after cooking (lycopene from tomatoes is one example) because the cooking process breaks down the plant's cell walls, thus releasing the intra-cellular molecules to be more available for absorption.

At the very least, be sure to eat the decorative kale leaves that may come on your plate in a restaurant!

Where kale (along with broccoli and all other Brassica vegetables) are more than decoration on my plate!

Diana Dyer, MS, RD