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Ribollita - Take care of yourself with soup!

Taking care of yourself is one of the helpful habits of a Weight Watcher...and it really pays off. I always keep some WW snacks in my glove compartment (1 and 2 point bars and some baked snacks too) and if I am out for the day I like to pack a snack so I don't get caught hungry or at "0" on the hunger scale.

I had knee surgery yesterday so I made some Jello with peaches, some sirloin beef enchiladas in corn tortillas and Ribollita (a hardy Italian vegetables soup) to have on hand for my recovery. I almost always have a pitcher of soup in the frig ready for a quick lunch or a snack.

Ribollita is one of my favorites and for only 2 points for a 1 cup serving it is quite satisfying.


RIBOLLITA

1 1/2 tsp olive oil
1 cup carrot(s)
1 cup onion(s)
1/2 cup celery
4 clove(s) garlic minced
6 - 8 cups chicken broth
3 cup(s) Swiss chard, chopped
3 cup(s) kale, chopped (or 6 cups of one of these)
2 1/2 cup(s) uncooked new potatoes, medium dice
2 tbsp canned tomato paste
1 tsp sugar
2 cup(s) canned diced tomatoes
3 cup(s) Goya Navy beans
2 slice(s) whole-wheat bread, made into fresh crumbs


Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add carrots and next ingredients (through garlic); cook 5 minutes or until onion is tender, stirring frequently. Add chard and next 8 ingredients (through tomatoes); stir to combine. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer 45 minutes.
Place 1/3 cup beans in a bowl; mash with a fork until smooth (optional). Add mashed beans, remaining beans, and bread to soup; cook 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Ladle soup into bowls.

Note: the extra 2 cups of broth can be added to make a thinner soup.

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