Vineyard Nutrition Recipe of the Week

Vineyard Nutrition, Island Grown Schools, and Mass in Motion have teamed up in a collaborative effort to help island families cook healthy, seasonal meals with the release of their a free nutrition and recipe booklet, “Vineyard Family Cooking.”

Written and prepared by Registered Dietitians Josh Levy and Prudence Athearn Levy of Vineyard Nutrition, the booklet includes time-saving cooking tips for busy care-givers, pantry basics, and kid-friendly recipes for breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner. It also highlights ingredients that are available from local family farms.

Every week on MVPatch, we will feature a different recipe from the book. You can also find the 23-page cooking booklet at all island schools, libraries, the YMCA. It is also available to download for free on the Vineyard Nutrition website at www.vineyardnutrition.com/cookbook and the Island Grown Schools website www.islandgrown.org/schools.

Fall Minestrone Soup

Author: Vineyard Nutrition  

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup chopped onion (about 1 large)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 6 cups low salt vegetable or chicken broth (or no-salt bouillon cubes)
• 2½ cups (3/4-in) cubed peeled butternut squash (use a vegetable peeler to
• remove skin before cutting into cubes)
• 2½ cups (3/4-in) cubed peeled sweet potato
• 1 cup (1-in) cut fresh green beans (about ¼ pound)
• ½ cup (or more) diced carrot
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 4 cups chopped kale (chop very fine)
• 2 cups frozen corn – fresh if possible
• ½ cup uncooked brown rice or barley, pre-cooked before adding to soup
• 1 (16-oz) can cannellini beans or other white beans, rinsed and drained
• ½ cup (2-oz) grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.
2. Add onion and garlic, saute 2½ minutes or until tender.
3. Add broth and the next 7 ingredients (broth through pepper); bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes.
4. Add kale, rice or barley, corn, and beans; cook 5 minutes or until corn is done and all vegetables are tender.
5. Sprinkle with cheese.

Notes You can lower the sodium in the recipe by using no-salt bullion/broth and no-salt added beans. Nutrition Information Serving size: 1.5cup Calories: 212 Fat: 5g Carbohydrates: 36g Sodium: 961mg Protein: 9.6g Cholesterol: 5mg