12 Steps to Whole Foods

Making Plant-Based Main Dishes
POTATO (AND ROOT VEGETABLE) MAIN DISH RECIPES
Glycemic Load Minimized
Turnip-Leek Barley Soup
If there’s a “good” dairy product, it’s yogurt or kefir, with live cultures to keep your gastrointestinal tract
populated with the good organisms that keep the bad bacterial organisms at bay.
2 leeks (white and green parts, with just the top 6" cut off), cleaned and chopped small
1 C barley (hulled, rather than pearled—pearling partially refines the grain)
3 potatoes, scrubbed and unpeeled
3 turnips, peeled and chopped
6 C vegetable broth
10 oz. bag fresh spinach, chopped (or a box of frozen chopped spinach, thawed)
1½ C plain yogurt
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
sea salt to taste
optional: 2 green onions (green part as well as white) or small bundle of fresh chives, chopped
optional: steamed asparagus, carrots, or broccoli, chopped
In a stock pot, boil the potatoes and turnips in 4 C of the broth, simmering 20 min. or until soft. In a separate
pot, cook the barley in 2 C of the broth (bring to a boil, lower heat, and simmer 45 min.). Sauté the leeks in the
oil until tender, adding the spinach for the last 60 seconds of sautéing. Purée the leeks/spinach/broth mixture in
a high-powered blender with the potatoes/turnips/broth mixture.
Pour the combined mixture back into the stock pot and cook until hot, adding salt to taste. Stir in the cooked
barley and yogurt, as well as any chopped steamed asparagus, carrots, or broccoli as desired. (The broccoli
may be puréed with the other ingredients, if your family doesn’t like it.)
Serve immediately with chopped green onions or chives sprinkled on top.
168 12 Steps to Whole Foods
© Copyright Robyn Openshaw