his hearty and healthful soup is the perfect meal in a bowl for a cold winter day. This recipe is actually vegan, but you won’t miss the meat since protein-rich lentils add so much texture and flavor to the mix. Don’t add all of the spinach at once if you plan to have leftovers, since it is nicer to wilt the delicate leaves as you eat the soup.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon Napa Valley organic olive oil
• 1 1/2 pounds orange-fleshed sweet potatoes, peeled, diced into 1-inch cubes
• 1 medium organic onion, diced
• 1 medium leek, green top removed, thinly sliced crosswise
• 4 cloves organic garlic, minced
• 1 bunch kale, stems removed, leaves thinly sliced
• 1 bunch mustard greens, stems removed, leaves thinly sliced
• 8-10 cups Pacific Natural Foods organic vegetable broth
• ½ cup Sabarot green lentils, picked over and rinsed
• 1/8-1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ pound fresh organic baby spinach

Instructions:


1. Heat oil over medium heat in a large soup pot. Add sweet potatoes, onion and leek. Cook ten minutes, stirring. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds. Add kale and stir to wilt, about two minutes. Add mustard greens and stir to wilt about one minute. Add eight cups broth. Bring to a boil; simmer one and a half to two hours. Stir in lentils when one hour remains.

2. Add more broth if soup is thick. Season with cayenne, pepper and salt. Stir in spinach and serve.