White Bean Soup with Smoked Sausage

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Summer has now gone and fall has arrived. That means the start of soup and stew season is upon us. I’m not someone who eats a lot of soup during the hot summer months. Just like I don’t drink hot beverages. For some reason, it just makes me too warm. But now that the weather is getting cooler and it’s getting dark earlier, I want soups like this white bean soup with smoked sausage soup a lot more often. I find that as the temperatures cool off, I crave soups, stews, and casseroles.

This soup was created out of necessity. There was one particular health challenge I’ve had since earlier in the year that has been a bit scary for me. I’ve had a potassium deficiency. A potassium deficiency can cause symptoms such as fatigue, abdominal cramps, muscle weakness, dizziness, depression, and anxiety, just to name a few. And I had them! My deficiency was caused by a magnesium deficiency, which is very common. So while I was doing things to increase my potassium, without boosting my magnesium I kept having issues.

Restoring nutrient levels with white bean soup

Now I’m actively working to build up my magnesium levels. Chronic stress can deplete magnesium easily. And I’ve definitely had a lot of that going on over the last year! Unfortunately, potassium supplements are legally only allowed to be 99 mg per tablet or capsule. And considering we need anywhere from 2600 to 3400 milligrams a day (depending on what gender you are), that would be way too many supplements to take! So to keep my potassium levels at a better place I’m eating lots of healthy, potassium rich foods.

And this white bean and smoked sausage soup is full of high potassium ingredients! According to the Clevland Clinic, a medium potato with the skin on has 900 milligrams of potassium. White beans like cannellini beans can contain as much as 600 milligrams of potassium in 1/2 cup. And cooked spinach has as much as 400 milligrams of potassium in 1/2 cup serving.

I added some turkey smoked sausage to this to give it some additional protein. I always look for turkey smoked sausage that doesn’t contain preservatives. Wellshire Farms has a great turkey kielbasa that I love! It only contains ingredients that I recognize. I got it at Whole Foods. If you are trying to boost your potassium levels, also be sure to use a vegetable broth that contains tomato. Tomatoes are rich in potassium!

This recipe is naturally gluten and grain free.