Recipe email time again! This time we have a hearty and healthful Skillet Gnocchi with Chard and White Beans. The store I went to didn't have chard or spinach—puzzling, but I chalked it up to being January in North Dakota—so I used kale instead. **Bonus points for the kale chips I get to make from the leftovers.** As much as I love kale, I have to admit chard has a very impressive resume: packed with vitamins and minerals, it also contains at least 13 different polyphenol antioxidants. Plus, if you're among those of us watching our diets more carefully this time of year, chard also has a lot fewer calories than kale.


The recipe also didn't specify what type of "white beans" to use. Browsing the natural foods you can buy at SwansonVitamins.com yielded 5 varieties of white beans. Garbanzo beans wouldn't really work in this recipe, and we've been using a lot of cannellini beans lately. Of the remaining Butter, Navy, and Great Northern beans, the Organic Navy Beans had the highest protein and lowest sodium content per serving, and the second highest fiber content.

This dish was very easy to make. There's plenty of time while the gnocchi is cooking and resting to prep everything else. This one got a lot of positive reviews here in the office. Watch for it in an upcoming email! I'll definitely make this one again, though I would add a little splash of balsamic or red wine vinegar for a little kick. Give the recipe a try and let me know what you think!