By Rip Esselstyn
This smoky potato soup stands alone as a hearty meal. Try adding jalapeños or a drizzle of sriracha if you like heat. I think this soup is even better the next day. Pinto beans or black beans also add a nice twist.
Ingredients:
64 oz. water or vegetable broth
4 sweet potatoes, cubed
4 Yukon Gold potatoes, cubed
4 red potatoes, cubed
4 potatoes that have been precooked (steamed or baked is fine)
2 cups shredded kale
10 green onions, diced (save two for garnish)
1 15-oz. can great northern beans, drained
1 12-oz. bag frozen carrots
1 15-oz. can no salt added carrots
4-6 tablespoons Mrs. Dash Southwest Chipotle or similar salt-free seasoning
Directions:
1. Puree the 4 precooked potatoes, canned carrots, and beans in the food processor.
2. Wash and cube the potatoes, then add them to a stock pot with the bag of frozen carrots and the water.
3. Bring to a boil, simmer for approximately 30 minutes until the potatoes are tender.
4. Dice the 8 green onions.
5. When the potatoes are tender in the pot, add the puree, the onions, and spice blend. Stir and simmer for 15 minutes.
6. Remove the pot from the heat, add the shredded kale, stir.
7. Wait 5 minutes. Serve with onion garnish.
Rip Esselstyn is a mission-driven man. As a swimmer at the University of Texas at Austin, he was a three time All-American. As a professional athlete, he was one of the premier triathletes in the world for more than a decade. As a firefighter for the Austin (TX) Fire Department, he helped people and saved lives. As a friend to other firefighters, he transformed the way Austin’s Engine 2 ate to save firefighters’ health. Now, as the author of The Engine 2 Diet, he is teaching people the irrefutable connection between what they put in their mouths and their ability to reach their ideal weight and their ideal health. Recently, he has teamed up with Whole Foods Market as a Healthy Eating Partner to raise awareness for Whole Foods Market team members, customers, and all of America about the benefits of eating a PlantStrongÔ diet composed of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds.
Rip comes from a family steeped in medicine. His great-grandfather, George Crile, co-founded the world-renowned Cleveland Clinic, where his father, Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr., was chief of the breast cancer task force and completed one of the most extensive studies ever conducted on the relationship between the heart and diet–proving that a plant-based diet can stop, prevent, and even reverse heart disease.
Rip serves on the Board of Directors for The Wellness Foundation, EarthSave’s Meals For Health Program, and the AllergyKids Foundation.
