Quick and Easy Kale Soup

I admit, I’ve been avoiding all the kale-love online for years, mostly because I’m kind of a white-bread and iceburg lettuce kind of girl. I don’t like fads, and I don’t like reading Facebook posts about your power-packed-kale-spinach-smoothie that’s so much better than the double-double the rest of us are drinking because I love my coffee.

However, thanks to my niece introducing me to how delicious kale can actually be (with lemon juice and olive oil, that’s it!) I’ve recently discovered that yes, I have been missing out. I learned that while raw kale is healthy and delicious, steamed kale is where it’s at.

Why do I care about the nutrient benefits of kale? Consider this: Kale’s risk-lowering benefits for cancer have recently been extended to at least five different types of cancer including cancer of the bladder, breast, colon, ovary, and prostate. Isothiocyanates (ITCs) made from glucosinolates in kale play a primary role in achieving these risk-lowering benefits.

My dad was diagnosed with bladder cancer four years ago and fought it until last month when he passed away. Beyond a doubt, when I hear of a way to reduce my risk of bladder cancer, I’m going to investigate more.

Here’s a recipe to for a quick and easy kale soup I found at The World’s Healthiest Foods (seriously, it took me 30 minutes to chop everything up and combine). I let mine simmer for about an hour until the potatoes were tender enough but the recipe states you can slurp it up after about 30 minutes.