Ham and Bean Soup

Soak the beans and chop the vegetables the night before to shave prep time. Measure one-quarter cupfuls of seven varieties of dried beans to use in place of the 12-ounce variety mix. A serving contributes more than one-third of your daily fiber needs.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: about 1 1/3 cups)

Ingredients

• 1  (12-ounce) package variety dried seven-bean mix
• Cooking spray
• 1  cup  chopped onion (1 medium)
• 4  cups  fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 3  garlic cloves, minced
• 1  cup  chopped carrot (about 2)
• 1  cup  chopped celery (3 ribs)
• 1  cup  chopped green bell pepper
• 1  cup  chopped red bell pepper
• 1/4  cup  chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 2  tablespoons  chopped fresh basil
• 1  tablespoon  chopped fresh oregano
• 1  tablespoon  chopped fresh thyme
• 3/4  teaspoon  kosher salt
• 1/2  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 1  smoked ham hock (about 4 ounces)
• 1  (14-ounce) can crushed tomatoes, undrained
• 1  bay leaf
• 1  tablespoon  fresh lemon juice

Preparation

Sort and wash beans; place in a large Dutch oven. Cover with water to 2 inches above beans; cover and let stand 8 hours. Drain beans.

Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion and garlic to pan; sauté 3 minutes. Add beans, broth, and remaining ingredients except juice; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 2 1/2 hours. Remove ham hock from pan; cool slightly. Remove ham from bones; finely chop and return meat to pan. Discard bones, skin, and fat. Discard bay leaf. Stir in juice.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

231 (18% from fat)

Fat:

4.5g (sat 1.4g,mono 1.7g,poly 0.8g)

Protein:

15.6g

Carbohydrate:

33.8g

Fiber:

10.9g

Cholesterol:

15mg

Iron:

4.1mg

Sodium:

478mg

Calcium:

87mg