Eating healthfully in the winter can be tough. When it’s dark and cold out, I often crave rich, heavy foods (or plain old junk food), not salads and other lighter options. It can be a struggle. That’s why I’m really excited to share this recipe today. It’s warm, flavorful, and satisfying, but also extremely healthy! And like most recipes I post, it’s easy to make. It’s so easy, in fact, that I have been making it almost every week for the past few months. The only ingredients are olive oil, garlic, kale, diced tomatoes, white beans, garlic powder, and dried onion. It doesn’t get much simpler than that!

If you think this sounds like something only crunchy vegetarians would like, think again! David is a pulled pork-loving guy and he can’t get enough of this dish. Every time we eat it he goes back for seconds and says something along the lines of, “I love that kale that you make!” To give credit where credit is due, my mom actually came up with the recipe, and I just adapted it slightly to punch it up a bit.  I made this kale again last night and decided it’s time to finally get the recipe up before the winter is over!

This can be served on its own as a side dish, or atop a whole grain like brown rice or quinoa to make it a full meal. I’ve even put it over pasta and it’s delicious that way too. It’s very versatile. If you decide to give this a try, I’d love to know what you think!

RECIPE

Ingredients

• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 12-oz. bag organic chopped kale (I get the kind that’s already washed and ready to go)
• 10 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 14.5-oz. can organic diced tomatoes with seasonings
• 1 15.5-oz can of white beans (I use cannellini but you can use any other bean you like, white or not)
• 2 tbsp dried chopped onion (or 1 tbsp onion powder)
• 1 tsp garlic powder

Directions

1. Lightly coat a large pot with olive oil and turn to medium low
2. Sauté the garlic until lightly browned and fragrant
3. Add the kale and stir. Sauté until the leaves have cooked down, about five minutes.
4. The pot will start off very, very full!
5. Add the diced tomatoes, cannellini beans, dried onion, and garlic powder. Stir well and let cook on low for 30-45 minutes.
6. Add salt to taste

Notes: To give the recipe a little extra kick, I sometimes add a half a cup or so of spicy salsa while it’s cooking. It’s not necessary but if you like spice, you might want to give this a try. And as with most dishes that call for lots of spices and seasonings, this tastes even better the next day as leftovers, after everything has had time to marinate.