About now, many of the resolutions made for the new year have been broken or forgotten. If a resolution to eat better was among yours, you need not give up. What you may need are some guidelines.
Aim for the following criteria for main courses and entree-size soup portions: up to 500 calories; up to 20 grams of total fat and up to 6 grams of saturated fat; up to 600 milligrams of sodium; up to 80 milligrams of cholesterol.
For side dishes, salads, soups (as a first course) and desserts: up to 250 calories; up to 10 grams of total fat and up to 3 grams of saturated fat; up to 300 milligrams of sodium and up to 40 milligrams of cholesterol.
This soup falls within those nutritional guidelines and tastes great.
Garlicky spinach and white bean soup
Recipe key: Healthy
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 45 minutes
Makes: 6 servings
Given its high water content and satiety value, eating an entree of soup is a good way to control your diet, and it can help you work in lots of vegetables. In this recipe from Alexandria, Va., nutritionist Robyn Webb, the beans provide plenty of fiber, a key to weight management. Using unsalted homemade chicken broth is the best way to limit the amount of sodium when making soup; otherwise, substitute with low- sodium canned broth.
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 each, cut into small dice: carrot, rib celery
1 tablespoon flour
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 can (15 ounces) cannellini or other white beans, drained, rinsed
1 can (14 ounces) no-salt-added diced tomatoes, with juice
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
2 cups stemmed, coarsely chopped spinach leaves
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1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
Freshly ground pepper
1. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, carrot and celery; stir to coat. Cook, stirring often, until softened, 6 minutes.
2. Add the flour; cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Add the broth, beans, tomatoes with their juice, oregano and rosemary. Heat to a boil; reduce heat to medium-low. Cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, 20 minutes. Add the spinach; cook until wilted, 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Nutrition information
Per serving: 137 calories, 18% of calories from fat, 3 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 22 g carbohydrates, 7 g protein, 331 mg sodium, 5 g fiber