COOK WELL, EAT WELL: Split-pea soup is good for the soul

Younger readers will find it a glimpse of a quainter day when I tell you that I walked home from school every day for lunch, all the way through the sixth grade. I’m thinking of those lunches Mom served me, because in chilly, damp weather – weather exactly like we’re having in southern Indiana as I write this – my favorite lunch was split-pea soup. My sister and brother didn’t like it, but I adored it and still do.

Mom served me canned split-pea soup, but when I grew up, I learned to make my own, far cheaper and better than the stuff I could buy at the store. (I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: You know how much better homemade cookies are than store-bought? Homemade soup is at least that much better than canned, and maybe more so.)

Bạn đang xem: COOK WELL, EAT WELL: Split-pea soup is good for the soul

Split-pea soup generally includes onion, garlic, carrot and celery, plus some ham, rounding out the nutritional profile. Let’s look at the numbers, shall we? A 11/2 cup serving of split-pea soup from a typical recipe will have about 285 calories, with 42 grams of carbohydrate and 3 grams of fiber, for a usable-carb count of 39 grams. That’s pretty darned carby. The good news is that split peas do have a low glycemic index, around 31. That means that split-pea soup, despite its high-/scarb count, has a medium glycemic load. If you’ve/sgot a robust/scarbohydrate metabolism, it’s a good choice. You’ll also get 15 grams of protein in that soup.

How about vitamins and minerals? Split peas are a terrific source of potassium, so it shouldn’t be surprising you’ll get 17 percent of your daily requirement. You’ll get 19 percent of your iron, too, plus 14 percent of your thiamin, 13 percent of your vitamin A and zinc, 11 percent of your niacin, 6 percent of your riboflavin and B-12 (assuming there’s some ham in your soup; B-12 is found most consistently in animal foods), 4 percent of your B-6 and just 1 percent of your folacin.

But what if you, like me, don’t have that robust carbohydrate metabolism? Despite my lifelong love affair with split-pea soup, I avoided it for years because my body simply doesn’t like that much carbohydrate. But I found a solution that works brilliantly, producing a soup not only lower in carbs and higher in fiber but lower in calories, too, all while keeping the great taste I’d missed. It’s very simple: I replaced half the split peas with pureed green beans.

The result is a soup with great split-pea flavor but with 33 percent less carbs, three times the fiber and about half the calories. What’s not to love about that?

I developed this recipe for my darling friend Julie and her son, Austin. They both love split-pea soup, but for health reasons, Julie has to keep her carb intake quite low.

Julie and Austin’s Split-Pea Soup

1 cup split peas

Xem thêm : Bookshelf

3 cups water

3 ounces turkey ham, diced small

1 small onion, diced small

2 large celery ribs, diced small, including any leaves

1 medium carrot, shredded

2 cans green beans, liquid and all

1 clove garlic, minced fine

1 bay leaf

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

Xem thêm : Hyperdynamic left ventricular ejection fraction in the intensive care unit

Salt and pepper

Cook’s notes: You can make this with regular ham if you like; it will increase the calorie count by fewer than 10 calories. I’ve also made this with sliced smoked sausage, browned a bit in a skillet before adding. Even sliced hot dogs will do in a pinch.

Because you use all the liquid in the canned green beans, you don’t lose any of the vitamins.

Wait until the soup is done to salt and pepper it. If you salt it early on, you may find it too salty when it’s done. I sometimes use Better Than Bouillon brand bouillon concentrate in ham flavor in place of salt for a meatier flavor.

Put your split peas in a mixing bowl, and cover them with the water. Let them sit for several hours.

Pour off the water into a measuring cup, and add enough water to it to make 5 cups. Put the split peas and the water into a kettle, cover, and put it over lowest heat. Let it simmer for at least 11/2 to 2 hours.

Dice the ham, onion and celery, and shred the carrot. Add all these to the split peas, and continue to simmer.

Now put your canned green beans into your blender, cover, and run the blender until the beans are pureed smooth. Pour them into the soup, add the garlic, bay leaf and thyme, and stir well. Let the whole thing simmer another 30 to 45 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste, and serve.

Six servings, each with: 146 alories; 1 gram fat; 11 grams protein; 24 grams carbohydrate; 9 grams dietary fiber; 15 grams usable carb.

Reach Dana Carpender at www.holdthetoast.com.

Nguồn: https://buycookiesonline.eu
Danh mục: Info