North Woods Bean Soup

Adding turkey kielbasa lends this soup a rich, slow-simmered flavor even though it takes less than 30 minutes to make. Puree a portion of the recipe for a velvety consistency, and stir in fresh spinach after the soup is removed from the heat so it retains its bright color.

Yield: 5 servings (serving size: about 1 1/2 cups)

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 1  cup  baby carrots, halved
• 1  cup  chopped onion
• 2  garlic cloves, minced
• 7  ounces  turkey kielbasa, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 4  cups  fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1/2  teaspoon  dried Italian seasoning
• 1/2  teaspoon  black pepper
• 2  (15.8-ounce) cans Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
• 1  (6-ounce) bag fresh baby spinach leaves

Preparation

Heat a large saucepan coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add carrots, onion, garlic, and kielbasa; sauté 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium; cook 5 minutes. Add the broth, Italian seasoning, pepper, and beans. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes.

Place 2 cups of the soup in a food processor or blender, and process until smooth. Return the pureed mixture to pan. Simmer an additional 5 minutes. Remove soup from heat. Add the spinach, stirring until spinach wilts.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

227 (15% from fat)

Fat:

3.9g (sat 1.2g,mono 1.3g,poly 1.2g)

Protein:

18.1g

Carbohydrate:

30.8g

Fiber:

6.7g

Cholesterol:

26mg

Iron:

3.5mg

Sodium:

750mg

Calcium:

112mg