This recipe was created in partnership with Genova Seafood.

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This Lemony Tuna and White Bean Kale Salad with Avocado has been my go-to salad the last couple of weeks. I’ve made it for quick lunches and I’ve also packed leftovers to take with me to my daughter’s volleyball tournament over the weekend. You know I felt so much better eating this salad in the bleachers instead of concession stand food!

There is a lot of quality protein in this kale salad. Tuna, specifically this Genova Yellowfin Tuna, is one of my favorite proteins to salads each week. I have partnered up with Genova for this recipe but I discovered this tuna a few years back when my grocery store had it on sale (this is the salad I first made with this tuna!). I picked up a few cans back then and I have been hooked on its rich, savory taste ever since. You can find where Genova is sold near you here.

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A couple of weeks ago my entire family got hit with a funky cold that was going around. It was not fun at all and I’m thankful it’s behind us. All 3 of my kids were home missing school, and then my husband came home sick from work on Wednesday night, just as I was making this Chicken Gnocchi Soup for dinner, the timing couldn’t have been better I guess you could say.

My kids aren’t huge soup people (though from the amount of soups that I post here, I obviously am). Both my kids discovered their love of the Chicken Gnocchi Soup at Olive Garden not long ago during one of our soup, salad and breadstick fixes and I knew that it was a soup I was going to have to make for them at home. They love gnocchi and when I found some adorable mini gnocchi at the grocery store the other day I knew it was time to make some soup.

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One of my daughter’s favorite soups to order out is creamy tomato soup. It’s one of my favorites too and after sharing with her the art of dunking grilled cheese (or paninis) into a bowl she asks for it all the time. I really don’t make tomato soup often enough, but a couple of weeks ago when Florida got hit with it’s 2-day winter freeze, this Tomato and White Bean Soup was exactly what we needed to warm us up. It definitely hit the spot.

Speaking of my daughter and her favorite things…my sweet girl turned 8 last Thursday and we have been celebrating her with some of her favorite things all weekend long. She’s growing up so fast and it’s just crazy to me that she was just ONE year old when I started this blog. She wasn’t even walking yet! 7 years later she is my little foodie in the making. She has the biggest heart, loves her brothers, and is just full of spunk…she’s a very funny girl and likes to crack us up – we sometimes refer to her as a mini Kristen Wiig.

Her birthday dinner request? This manicotti (minus the butternut squash) she helped me make a few months ago and key lime pie. That’s my girl.

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Is kale still considered a health trend or can we agree that it’s here to stay? I feel like kale, quinoa, chia seeds and other super healthy foods came onto the scene hard over the last few years, with recipes for them floating around everywhere you turn. Personally, I love it and don’t consider any food that is good for you trendy in any way. I love that people are starting to embrace healthier foods and ingredients, even ones that might seem weird or a little intimidating (though, honestly, I’m still not 100% convinced I will like “chia pudding”).

I don’t really remember when I first started eating kale but I know that once I did I loved finding ways to add it into recipes. From frittatas to soups to salads, kale is so versatile and there really are so many ways to enjoy it. And let’s face it, you can’t help but feel super healthy after eating it. 🙂

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Is everyone ready for a bit of a detox this week or what? I enjoyed every bite of my long holiday weekend but I am so ready to feed my body better and move it more this week, that’s for sure. Our Thanksgiving was full of delicious food (plus a few days after), and I don’t really feel like I over did it for the most part – except for in the dessert category. Whoa. I’m disturbed by the amount of pie that has been consumed in my house over the last few days. I don’t normally go crazy over sweets, but pie, I really do love pie. I had so many different kinds of pies tempting me this weekend…well, let’s say I’ve had enough pie for a while. No more pie please.

Let’s have soup instead. Lots of soup. I made this soup a couple of weeks ago when I was feeling under the weather and ate it for days. I stuck a little in the freezer and am so glad I did because it’s coming out this week to help me get back on track. Though, I could easily make another pot, it’s easy enough and all of it’s ingredients are staples and can be most likely be found in any kitchen.

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So much goodness in this salad. SO MUCH GOODNESS. I ate it for lunch 4 days in a row last week, that’s how much I loved it. I’ll be honest by the fourth day I was a little over it so I mixed in some romaine and a little ceasar dressing and wow, that might be another recipe/post for another day.

Have you tried farro? It seems to be becoming pretty trendy in recipes I’m noticing…could farro become the new quinoa? I don’t know…quinoa is pretty much all over the place these days. Personally, I really like farro (check out my Garden Farro Salad recipe and this Summer Tabouli with Farro recipe I’ve made before). It has a chewy, nutty texture and is a great grain to serve on it’s own or mixed in with other ingredients into a salad like this Italian Tuna and White Bean Farro Salad.

This farro salad is great to pack in your lunchbox or eat for lunches at home throughout the week like I did. Because farro is such a hearty grain, it holds up well and fills you up with good carbs, protein and fiber. The tuna, beans, celery and feta add even more nutrition and flavor. This is definitely healthy, good-for-you eatin’!

(I think it would be kind of nice to serve for a group along with a variety of salads at a lunchtime gathering too.)

Here is a great blog post on how to cook farro – it explains 3 different methods and a little background on this tasty little grain (I found this post to be really informative!).

Farro might be a challenge to find in your regular grocery store but I do find it there sometimes. I’ve also seen it at Costco, The Fresh Market and my local health food store. You can also order it on Amazon.

Hope everyone is having a great week! In case you missed it, don’t forget to enter my giveaway for The Skinnytaste Cookbook, ends Monday, October 3.

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So yes I know it’s summer and I’m posting about soup. It just doesn’t seem right does it? But after being away from home for almost a week (and after eating lots of good food and drinking lots of good wine and of course let’s not forget the not so good stuff that goes along with travel), all I wanted when I got home was a big comforting bowl of vegetable soup.

If you follow me on Facebook, you probably have heard me mention “detox soup” quite often. This soup would definitely fall in the detox soup category. It’s one of those soups that is nothing but good for you, full of clean veggies and protein and if you are feeling a little “off” will get you back on track in no time.
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Here’s the recipe a lot of you have been asking me for…

After getting back from my trip to Napa, I couldn’t wait to make this chili for my family.  I convinced my children to try it using an idea I got from my new friend Connie Gutterson…she asks her kids to rate some of the recipes she makes for them…my son totally bought into the “rating game” and ate a nice bowl himself.  My daughter, she didn’t care so much about the rating part, she just dove in and gobbled up her share.  I had to restrain myself from showing too much excitement so they wouldn’t get suspicious…

Sammy (age 5) rates this “5 spoons” and “3 thumbs up”!

I added a little quinoa to the chili to make it even more nutritious.  My kids think of quinoa as “rice”…whatever works right?!

Another tip I learned from Connie…Be sure to “fry” your sauce before adding in the liquids.  What that means is cooking down the roasted pepper and tomatillo puree in a little olive oil along with the onions and garlic until it “pulls away from the pan”…doing this enhances the flavor by concentrating and thickening up the sauce a bit.

Enjoy!

(Oh…and to keep things on the up and up here’s a little disclaimer…Bush Beans covered the costs of my trip but does not pay me to say nice things about them.)

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Bush’s White Bean Chile Verde with Sonoma Pesto

• Author: Aggie's Kitchen
• Category: Chicken
• Method: Oven/Stovetop

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Ingredients

• 1 lb tomatillos
• 1/2 lb poblano chiles
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups finely chopped yellow onion
• 1 TB minced garlic
• 1 tsp Mexican oregano (use regular oregano if you don’t have Mexican)
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 2 cans (15.5 oz) BUSH’s Cannellini Beans, with liquid
• 2 TB chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
• 4 cups Swiss chard, stemmed, cut 1 inch wide strips
• salt and pepper, to taste

* Optional Toppings

• Salsa Verde (purchased)
• Sour Cream or Greek Yogurt
• Sonoma Pesto (see recipe below)

Sonoma Pesto

• 1 bunch fresh cilantro
• 1 serrano chile
• 1 tablespoon pine nuts or peanuts
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 ounces olive oil
• zest and juice from 1 lime
• salt and pepper to taste

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven or toaster oven to 400°F.
2. Place tomatillos and poblano chiles on sheet pan. Roast in oven until peppers have blistered and tomatillos are soft. Remove from oven. Place tomatillos in blender. Once poblanos are cool enough to handle, remove seeds and skins. Add to blender, blend until smooth.
3. Heat olive oil in a sauté pan. Add onions, cook until caramelized, approximately 5 minutes. Add garlic and oregano, cook until aromatic.
4. Add tomatillo mixture, cook for 10 minutes until slightly thickened.
5. Add stock, beans and their liquid. Bring to simmer, cook for 20 minutes.
6. Add cilantro, chicken and chard. Bring to a simmer, cook for 10 minutes. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

Sonoma Pesto

1. Combine all pesto ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Drizzle the pesto on top of the chile verde and finish with salsa verde, as desired.

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