I’m currently eating a very low nightshade diet to help reduce inflammation. Fortunately or unfortunately, it seems to be helping a lot. When I try to eat peppers, my pain levels go up rapidly. Tomatoes don’t seem to bother me as much, and eggplant is easy to avoid. So I’m having to redo a lot of my recipes to try to reduce nightshades and still retain taste because I generally depend highly on peppers for flavor. This is tonight’s successful and delicious effort.

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Ham, Bean and Chard Soup

Ham, Bean and Chard Soup

2 cups diced all-natural ham
2 cans (14 ounce) Great Northern organic beans (or other beans of your choice), drained
1 medium yellow or white organic onion, diced
2 medium organic carrots, sliced very thin
4 cloves organic garlic, minced
1 bunch organic chard, stems sliced thinly and leaves shredded in bite size pieces
4 cups (1 box) organic low sodium chicken broth (I used Pacific brand)
3 teaspoons organic dried thyme
2 teaspoons organic dried mustard (not prepared mustard)
2 teaspoons organic ground black pepper
2 teaspoons sea salt
several tablespoons organic olive oil (or other cooking oil of your choice)

In a soup pot, pour in a few tablespoons of olive oil. Saute onion, chard stems, and carrots over medium heat until onions are almost fully translucent. Add garlic. Saute for another few minutes. Add broth, ham, beans, thyme, mustard, black pepper, and sea salt. Cook until all has warmed through, broth is bubbling and carrots are fully cooked. Add chard leaves to the pot and stir until they have wilted. Remove from heat and serve.

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