Recipe: Veggie Minestrone

Here's a quick minestrone that I put together to break up those chicken noodle soup blues... :) Click keyword "recipes" to see all our recipes!

Veggie Minestrone
~Makes 8 servings, 1.25 cups each



Ingredients:
2 cans (15.5 oz each) Garbanzo beans
1 cup dry rotini pasta
1 large can (49.5 oz) Swanson's 100% Natural Chicken Broth
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
1 can (14.5 oz) green beans
1 large handful fresh spinach, rough chopped
4 medium carrots, diced
1 medium green bell pepper, diced
dried, minced onion (or substitute fresh onion)
2 Tbsp. Mrs. Dash Italian Medley seasoning

1) Place broth, tomato sauce, Garbanzo beans, green beans, carrots, bell pepper, spinach, minced onion, and seasoning in large pot and get boiling!
2) Once boiling, add pasta, reduce heat and simmer 10-15 minutes until pasta is cooked.

Quick and easy!

Nutrition Facts (per 1.25 cup serving):
Calories: 187
Fat: 1.5
Fiber: 9.5
Protein: 9

Dig it!
--Jay :)

Chickpeas = Garbanzo Beans = Cecis = Cicer Arietinum

What's In A Name?

For a "day off" lunch treat, Dee made a variation of a Food Network "Five Ingredient Fix" salad recipe centered on beans. We chose to use chickpeas... I mean, garbanzo beans. Or, as Mario Batali likes to call them, "cecis".

The original recipe (located here) involved endive, cannelini beans, roasted red peppers, with some olive oil and lemon juice. We opted for some substitutions from the fridge, and went with iceberg, chickpeas, raw red pepper, fat-free Italian dressing, and added some water-packed tuna for extra protein, and crushed pretzels for crunch. Rock! I didn't get a photo, but next time we may opt for a fancier green and make a nice beauty plate to put on here. :)

Two more days until weigh day number four!
--Jay