Let me just start by going into teacher mode and telling you several of the reasons you should try this soup.

1. Fiber and antioxidants, (from the beans)
2. Protein and vitamin B-6 and B-12, (from the Italian turkey sausage)
3. Niacin, zinc, protein, fiber, vitamins A, C, E and K, thiamin, vitamin B6, folate, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, copper, and manganese (from baby spinach)
4. AND vitamins A, C, and K, vitamin B6, folate, thiamin, and potassium (from the tomatoes)….woah, what!? This soup is a powerhouse! Okay, so, show of hands class. . . who wants to give this soup a shot? (all hands should be going up) 😉

That was a long list of stuff your body craves. Your body will thank you for this one. My husband is joining me in trying to eat healthier so he is up for trying all kinds of different foods with me right now, as long as the recipe does not include cilantro! My kids… not so much, but they have been good sports!

How are your kids about trying new foods?

I try to be honest on here about how my family eats. . . . for the most part.  Some things I intentionally leave out. For instance, I don’t tell you EVERY time my youngest (6 year old) barely touches his dinner because I would be telling you all. . . the. . . .time! The kids hardly eats. . . UNLESS there are PANCAKES and then he eats like an animal attacking its prey. (seriously, he can take down 5 pancakes in five minutes, which is about as long as it take hims to eat one bite of salad) Anyway, why am I tell you all this? I thought I should mention today that all three of my kids did not love this soup. This may never be a family favorite recipe but, like I said yesterday, I wanted to branch out and try some new things this week, and I am happy to expose my children to different foods they have not acquired a taste for yet, with the hopes that with time they will learn to love it. I really did like this soup and I was glad to have the leftovers the next day for lunch. I hope you like it too.

I used the Jennie-O sweet Italian turkey sausage, but last night I noticed that you could even get Italian turkey sausage at Aldi now! SWEET!

Here is what you need:

10 oz. sweet turkey Italian sausage
Cooking  spray
1 onion
4 garlic garlic cloves
1 (15 oz.) can cannellini beans
1 (14.5 oz) can stewed tomatoes
1 (14 oz.) can fat-free less sodium chicken broth
2 c. baby spinach
1 T.chopped fresh basil
2 t. chopped fresh oregano
2 T. grated Parmesan cheese

Here is what you do:

1. Remove casings from sausage. Cook sausage in a large saucepan coated with cooking spray over high heat until browned, stirring to crumble.
   
   (or get out the portion of browned sausage from the refrigerator that you saved from the barley sausage skillet recipe earlier in the week)
2. Add onion and garlic to pan; cook 2 minutes.
   
   Stir in ½ cup water, beans, tomatoes, and broth. Cover and bring to a boil.
   
   Uncover and cook 3 minutes or until slightly thick. Remove from heat, and stir in spinach, basil, and oregano. Spinach will begin to shrink in the soup.
   
   Ladle 1-1/2 cups soup in each of 4 bowls, and sprinkle each serving with 1-1/2 tsp. Parmesan cheese.
   

4 servings.
One serving is 1-½ cups soup and 1-½ tsp. Parmesan cheese.
One serving is 6 Green, 3 Blue, and 3 Purple Points.

This recipe was adapted from a recipe in the cookbook, “Cooking Light 350-Calorie Eat Smart Guide: 90 Fresh, Quick, and Easy dishes”.