easy peasy and super healthy kale and root vegetable stew

I think we're due for a recipe around here... something warming, healthy, and Mommy friendly.

Normally I plan meals loosely and have staples ready in the freezer/pantry to throw something together. Often though lately I am being forced to improvise with what I have. We're on food stamps right now, ( :( ) which is a huge benefit to us for now, but our budget is extremely limited, so I find myself stretching what we have even more as the month winds down. A lot of times I find I've purchased an ingredient for one purpose but end up using it for something completely different later. This was the case for last night's dinner.

I bought like ten pounds of carrots and three pounds of kale with the intention to juice them, and have yet to get to that part... and there were sweet potatoes in the fruit basket that had been begging to be cooked for a couple weeks... good thing about root vegetables, they keep for a good while... couple that with my stock pile of canned beans (thank you WIC)... I had something delish in mind.

I've made this "stew" before... it's really an elaboration on one of my favorite meals, beans and greens (usually butter beans or field peas and collards). It's hearty, extremely healthy and - to top it off - great for "picking from" to feed a self-feeding infant! I tend to choose meals so that I don't have to prepare something completely different for Noah. Top it off with the fact that every meal I cook should be at least gluten free and ideally both gluten free AND casein free for Dakota... well, I have a lot of factors to consider. This pretty much covers them all.

Kale and Root Vegetable Stew (original recipe by Brooke Hammel)

Ingredients:
2 - 3 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks (1 1/2 inches minimum)
4 large whole carrots, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
4 or 5 big handfuls of chopped kale (I recommend prewashed, prepackaged kale - kale has lots of pesticides and is hard to clean unless you want to buy organic, and that is even better!)
1/3 to half a 6-qt soup pot full of water (3 qts seems like a lot... so lean towards 2 qts or 8 - 9 cups)
two packets of Wiley's Greens Seasoning (available in the produce section, otherwise click on link and order)
1 can of black eyed peas, unseasoned and drained
1 can of Great Northern beans, unseasoned and drained
a little garlic

Directions: This recipe couldn't be easier and is ready to eat as soon as your root vegetables are soft. You don't want to overcook them because the sweet potatoes will break down and become mushy.

Chop the root vegetables into 1 - 1/2 in chunks. Fill your soup pot about 1/3 to 1/2 full of water. Add the Wiley's seasoning packets. Kick the heat up to high to get the water hot and ready for wilting the kale. Add the cans of beans and chopped kale. Bring to a boil and then a hearty simmer until your root vegetables are soft, but not too soft, and the kale is wilted, about 20 minutes.

I served mine with sprouted Ezekiel cinnamon raisin toast (gluten free bread by Udi's for Dakota) and real butter.

The best part is this is totally baby friendly! I just fished out chunks of sweet potato, carrots, beans and kale and they were perfectly soft, and perfectly ready for my little baby boy to eat!

Yes that is a fairy wand he is holding... don't ask.

Everyone enjoyed it... well, almost everyone - Shiloh won't eat much of anything these days that looks "weird"... the hubs ate two bowls of it. And there's at least four servings remaining in the fridge. This should serve up to 8 people I reckon and give us leftovers for tonight.

Enjoy it! Bless y'all!

Love B