Healthy Recipe: Winter Vegetable Soup
After a morning of cross-country skiing or sledding with the kids, nothing’s more warming than a bowl of hearty vegetable soup for lunch. Try making a double batch, freezing half for another meal. Team this soup with some crisp winter apples or pears and a serving of low-fat Cheddar cheese, and you’re ready for satisfying healthy winter meal.
Ingredients
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
½ pound leeks, trimmed, split in half lengthwise, and well rinsed
1 medium white onion, chopped
½ pound carrots, thinly sliced on the diagonal
2 large celery ribs, thinly sliced on the diagonal
2 tablespoons dried lentils, rinsed and picked over
2 tablespoons dried split peas, rinsed and picked over
2 tablespoons dried small white beans, rinsed and picked over
1 teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 quarts fat-free, reduced sodium chicken or vegetable broth
1 14½-ounce can of no-salt-added plum tomatoes, drained and coarsely chopped
¼ pound spinach, with stems discarded
Directions
In a large soup pot, heat the oil over medium-low heat. Thinly slice the leeks and add them to the pot along with the onion. Cook and stir until the vegetables wilt, about 5 minutes. Add the carrots, celery, lentils, peas, beans, thyme, pepper and broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the tomatoes and continue to simmer, covered, for another 15 minutes, until the white beans are tender. Stir in the spinach and simmer, uncovered, until wilted, about 3 minutes. Ladle into soup bowls and serve.
Per Serving
130 calories (20% calories from fat) 3 g total fat (0.5 g saturated fat)
9 g protein
21 g carbohydrate
5 g dietary fiber
0 mg cholesterol
130 mg sodium
120 mg potassium
This heart-healthy recipe and more than 150 others are available from the nation’s #1 heart center in the “Cleveland Clinic Healthy Heart Lifestyle Guide and Cookbook” (© 2007 Broadway Books). The cookbook is available in bookstores or online from Randomhouse.com