• 1 cup onions, chopped
• 2/3 cup celery, sliced
• 2 carrots, sliced
• 1-1/4 tsp. garlic, crushed
• 2 tsp. vegetable oil
• 1-1/4 lbs. canned navy beans, or Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed, divided
• 2-1/3 cups fat-free low sodium chicken broth
• 1-1/3 cups broccoli florets
• 1/4 tsp. dried rosemary leaves
• 1/8 tsp. ground thyme leaves
• 2/3 cup spinach leaves

Sauté onion, celery, carrots, and garlic in oil in large saucepan 3-4 minutes. Add half of the beans, plus the chicken broth, broccoli florets, and herbs to saucepan; heat to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer until broccoli is tender; 5-7 minutes. While soup is cooking, process remaining beans, along with rosemary, thyme, and spinach, in food processor or mash until smooth. Stir pureed beans and spinach into soup; simmer until hot, about 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

You can substitute frozen chopped onion, green pepper, and prepared garlic in this recipe. You can prepare soup 1-2 days in advance; refrigerate, covered. Soup can be frozen up to 2 months.

Courtesy American Dry Bean Board.

Per serving: calories 261, fat 4.3g, 14% calories from fat, cholesterol 3mg, protein 15.8g, carbohydrates 44.2g, fiber 12.0g, sugar 11.8g, sodium 166mg, diet points 3.7.

Dietary Exchanges: Milk: 0.0, Vegetable: 2.5, Fruit: 0.0, Bread: 2.1, Lean meat: 0.0, Fat: 0.6, Sugar: 0.0, Very lean meat protein: 0.0

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