White Bean Tuscan Soup

My friend Suzanne and I were discussing soup the other day. (What? We like soup.) She is the one that gave me the recipe for Turkey, Kale and Brown Rice Soup. We were discussing vegetarian soups and thought that the turkey soup could be easily changed into a vegetarian white bean soup. A quick Google search brought up this recipe, very similar and even fewer ingredients.

This was an easy soup to make on a weeknight, lots of chopping but everything still came together in less than 40 minutes. I used fresh carrots instead of canned, I personally would have added them earlier to soften with the onion and garlic. Everything else I followed to the letter, it made a fabulous light meal served with Parmesan on top 7 grain bread on the side.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup diced yellow onion
4 large garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 (32 ounce) box low-sodium vegetable broth
4 cups packed chopped kale
1 (14.5 ounce) can Italian-style diced tomatoes
1 (14.5 ounce) can no-salt-added cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 (14.5 ounce) can sliced carrots, drained, or two large carrots, peeled and sliced

Method:
In a large saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook 2 minutes longer. Add broth, kale and tomatoes (and fresh carrots, if using) and cover. Cook 5 minutes or until kale is tender. Add beans and canned carrots and heat thoroughly. Serve hot.

Nutritional Info:
PER SERVING:284 calories (80 from fat), 8g total fat, 1g saturated fat, 0mg cholesterol, 460mg sodium, 33g carbohydrate (8g dietary fiber, 7g sugar), 9g protein