Chicken & Kale Stoup

On a cold, rainy day in January I couldn't think of a better way to end our day. For women eating dark, leafy greens are essential. I started educating myself a little on the benefits of kale, spinach, collard greens, turnip greens, etc. and found some interesting facts from The Weston Price Foundation.

Weston Price states that poor nutrition is often the cause of PMS and irregular cycles. Leafy green veggies provide Vitamin A. In 1 cup of Kale, 10,000 IU can be given to your body! To aid in PMS relief, it's important to have around 50,000 IU per day so that is a great amount! These healthy greens also provide magnesium which is a necessary mineral to help regulate hormones.

We, as Americans, simply do not eat enough nutritious foods. Most of my life I have eaten for taste rather than nutrition. Learning about the types of foods that help, rather than hurt my body, assists me to truly understand the importance of eating foods that nutritionally support my body.

So, this healthy soup has some great fat content and some great PMS reducing qualities. :) As I was telling Sam about my new discoveries, he suggested nicely that I should cook these things MUCH MORE OFTEN! :)

3-4 Bone In Chicken Breast
2 Sausage Links (Any Kind - Kielbasa, Italian or Cajun)
1 Bunch of Kale, organic
1 Frozen Bag of Spinach, organic
1 Can Artichoke Hearts, organic
1 Onion
4 Garlic Cloves, whole
1 can fire-roasted tomatoes, organic
1 tablespoon Basil
1 tablespoon thyme or oregano
salt & pepper to taste
1-2 celery stalk & leaves
opt: Parmesan to top

Place the frozen chicken in the crock pot. Add the onion, garlic, tomatoes, basil, thyme, garlic, celery, sausage links, salt and pepper. Add water to cover. Later in the day, if you can wait, add the rest of the veggies. If you must do it in the morning that is fine.

Let this cook all day and then serve with my cauliflower "rice" or brown rice. Or just by itself.

The leftovers are EVEN BETTER!!!! :)