White Beans with Spinach and Sausage

(and tomato. Don’t forget the tomato.)

Five years ago you wouldn’t have found any kind of bean in our house. We still aren’t huge on them but we no longer shun them. Crazy, right?

Beans are part of why we no longer describe ourselves as ‘paleo’. We were those folks. The ones willing to go down swinging about the sheer ignorance of ingesting legumes. LEGUMES!

IMG_2200

It looks like crazy talk now with time and distance. Not the concept that legumes are anti-nutrients, but the idea that there needed to be words had over whether grown adults other than ourselves should eat them. One of the few joys of being an adult is getting to make choices for ourselves…and living with the repercussions of those choices.

So with time and…well…time, we’ve calmed down about all things paleo and have found an awesome happy medium of finding what helps us be our healthiest with the least amount of pain, suffering, bloat, discomfort or acne. (We do this through a super tight elimination diet that we hit a couple of times per year to reset our health and then relax into a more real existence.) Get as clean a food source as possible but don’t be afraid to live life. There are so many other things to freak out about than legumes. That being said…

It just so happens that legumes don’t cause us problems on a here and there basis of consumption. This recipe is a great example of what we consider to be a healthy way to eat them and take in spinach (which I’m still a baby about).

IMG_2194

White Beans with Spinach and Sausage

Ingredients
3/4 pound sausage, sliced
2 C chicken broth
2 cloves of garlic
1 tsp dried oregano
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 C Cannellini beans (you can use canned if needed make sure you rinse them as well)* see my suggestion above if using dry beans
2 med sized tomatoes diced up really small (approx. 1 C)
6 C baby spinach leaves
Freshly cracked pepper to taste

IMG_2197

Directions 

  • If using dry beans, soak over night in hot water with lid on. A trick- boil water, pour beans in , cover with lid let it sit. In the morning, rinse.
  • Pour chicken broth and garlic into a large pot. Place on medium high heat and bring to a simmer. Add in the oil and oregano then beans. Stir it up before adding in tomatoes. Heat through till the beans are tender. It takes about an hour or more depending on heat variation.  If using canned it won’t take long at all. Once beans are tender add in the spinach and cook just until the leaves are wilted. Add sausages. Stir it in and sprinkle cracked pepper on top. I let it sit for about 30 minutes before eating. I feel that it gets better with time.

IMG_2198