White Bean Soup with Fresh Greens
Serves 8

This recipe will warm you up on a cold day as it loads your body with powerful antioxidants and provides your taste buds with savory flavors.  At just 115 calories and 16 grams of carbohydrate per serving, it’s the perfect soup to have with a slice of crusty whole grain Italian bread!

Ingredients:
1 ½ Tbsp. Olive oil
1 large Leek, cleaned (white part only, chopped about ½ cup)
1 medium Onion, chopped (about ½ cup)
4 Garlic cloves, minced
2 small Carrots, peeled and diced
3 Tbsp fresh minced Parsley
¼ lb. green Swiss chard, finely sliced (about 2 ½ cups)
3 small Tomatoes, seeded & diced (about 1 ¾ cups)
6 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
Ground Pepper and Red Pepper flakes, to taste
1 can (15.5 oz.) white beans, rinsed & drained
¼ cup sliced fresh basil
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add the leeks, onions, garlic and carrots; sauté for about 5 minutes, or until the onions are soft.  Add in the parsley & sauté for about 2 minutes.
2. Add in the Swiss chard and sauté for 2 minutes.  Pour in the broth and the crushed red pepper flakes.  Season with pepper.  Bring to a boil and then simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Add in the beans and basil; simmer for about 5 minutes.  Garnish each bowl with Parmesan cheese (makes 8 servings).

 Nutritional Information Per Serving:

Calories 115, Total Fat 4g, (Saturated fat 0.9g), Cholesterol 5mg, Sodium 195 mg, Carbohydrate 16g, Fiber 4g, Protein 5g