• 1 large onion , chopped (about 1 ½ cups)
• 2 medium carrots, chopped ½" slices
• 3 cups rinsed and chopped kale
• 3 medium cloves garlic, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 1 tablespoon)
• 1 can (14 ½ ounces) diced tomatoes, drained
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves
• 1 cup lentils (7 ounces), rinsed and picked over
• 1 teaspoon table salt
• Ground black pepper
• ½ cup dry white wine
• 4 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 ½ cups water

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Add olive oil to soup pot over medium high heat. Add onion and carrots; cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables begin to soften, about 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
2. Stir in lentils, salt, and pepper to taste; cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook until vegetables are softened and lentils have darkened, 8 to 10 minutes.
3. Uncover, increase heat to high, add wine, and bring to simmer. 
4. Add chicken broth, water, tomatoes, bay leaf; bring to boil, cover partially, and reduce heat to low. Simmer until lentils are tender but still hold their shape, 30 to 35 minutes; discard bay leaf.
5. Puree 3 cups soup in blender until smooth, then return to pot.
6. Add kale and simmer in soup for about 5 minutes until tender.

You can serve the soup with a spoon of yogurt to make it creamy. Stir the yogurt into your bowl of soup.

• 1 quart fat free, low sodium chicken broth
• 1 quart water
• 1 2lb Napa cabbage, cut into 1″ strips
• 3 carrots, cut
• 1 large zucchini, cut
• about 6 oz. pasta, cooked according to instructions and then left to soak in the hot pasta water [note: I added pasta because I need carbs in my diet]
• 1 chicken breast, cubed and poached [note: added for protein]

I didn’t sautee the vegetables or add any seasonings at all – just threw in the veggies with the simmering liquids for 30 minutes. It’s important to leave the cooked pasta in the cooking water so it will soak up as much water as it needs and not soak up the soup liquids when you add it.