Creamy Sausage Kale Soup

Low-carb, dairy free soup recipe

This creamy sausage kale soup is fast, easy and full of flavor - best part is that it is dairy free! Often, cream based soups sit really heavy in my stomach - this one is satisfying, but doesn't leave me feeling like I need a nap.

In 30-45 minutes, you can your ingredients from fridge and pantry, to steaming on the table.

You can pair this soup with a salad and/or roll. I topped my soup with some freshly grated parmesan cheese!

Tip for the kale - remove all of the thick stalk sections, so you are left with leaves only - these will soften up much better in the soup.

Creamy sausage kale soup - yields 6 servings

Ingredients

1 lb of ground turkey sausage

3 stalks of celery, chopped

2 Tbsp minced garlic

1/2 yellow onion, diced

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 (32 oz) carton chicken broth

1 (13.5 oz) can lite coconut milk

1 (14.5 oz) can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

1 tsp garlic salt

1 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp black pepper

4 cups of chopped kale

Optional: freshly grated parmesan cheese for garnish

Instructions

1. Brown your sausage over medium high-heat - drain any liquid and set aside.

2. Cook the celery, onion, garlic and olive oil until tender. Add the broth, tomatoes, coconut milk, sausage and spices. Simmer for 10 minutes.

3. Stir in the kale, and simmer 5-10 more minutes until the kale is tender. Add additional salt/pepper to taste.

4. Garnish with freshly grated parmesan cheese, if desired. Leave the cheese off for a dairy-free option.

Enjoy!

Total carb and protein breakdown: 16g carbs, 20g protein per serving

My journey with gestational diabetes

I have always struggled with hypoglycemia, and have spent the past 12 years looking for creative ways to always balance my protein and carb intake for balanced blood sugar levels. Although hypoglycemia deals with low blood sugar, while gestational diabetes causes high blood sugar if not managed properly, both require careful attention to balancing my protein and carb intake.

Cooking has always been a passion of mine, and now I get to discover new ways to hit my protein and carb goals, while not giving up any quality of flavor! Each meal, I have a goal to stay between 25-35 grams of carbs, and 25-30 grams of protein. If I feel like I need extra energy, I can add extra carbs to each meal, up to 45 grams of carbs per meal, based on my dietician's guidance.

Rather than feeling frustrated and limited by my gestational diabetes diagnosis, I am spending my time exploring creative low-carb, high-protein snacks and meals and will be documenting my journey along the way. I am not a medical professional, and suggest each woman diagnosed with gestational diabetes works with a qualified nutritionist to meet her goals. My goal is simply to share my journey and what is working for me as I live with gestational diabetes.

I will not be sharing the complete macros of each meal that I share - rather the carb and protein breakdown for each.