Turkey Barley and Sweet Potato Soup

Amazing Delicious Turkey Barley and Sweet Potato Soup by Skinny Kitchen

One of the greatest aspects about working on Soupy (other than making the soups themselves) is the amazing opportunity to meet - both in person and online - so many passionate home cooks and chefs. One blogger that I have admired and really hope to meet one day is Nancy Fox. As the creator of Skinny Kitchen, a website devoted to healthy eating and cooking tips, Nancy creates weekly recipes that include Weight Watchers points, a list of healthy alternatives and nutritional information so that you can compare recipes. For this guest post, Nancy shared her Amazing Delicious Turkey Barley and Sweet Potato Soup recipe that uses turkey instead of chicken, celery, carrots, sweet potatoes, onions and pearl barley to create a full-bodied soup with great texture. I hope you enjoy this delicious and easy-to-prepare soup and stay tuned for more contributions from Nancy in the next couple of weeks.

Guest Post: by Nancy Fox of Skinny Kitchen

 
Amazing Delicious Turkey Barley and Sweet Potato Soup
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook time:  1 hour

Ingredients:
1 (32 ounce) container reduced-sodium chicken broth (we like Swanson’s Organic reduced-sodium.)
1(14oz) can reduced- sodium chicken broth
2/3 cup dried pearl barley
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced (or 1 teaspoon from a jar)
1 ¼ cups carrots, sliced
1 cup celery, sliced
1 cup onions, chopped (~1 small onion)
2 cups sweet potatoes, peeled and diced (~2 sweet potatoes)
1 ½ cups cooked turkey breast (skin removed), diced
Fresh ground pepper to taste


Instructions:
1. In a large pot add the chicken broth and barley.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
2. In the meantime, in a pan add the olive oil, garlic, carrots, celery, onions,  and  sauté until vegetables are soft (~ 5 minutes)
3. Add the sautéed vegetables to the broth.  Cook uncovered for 30 minutes
4. Add the sweet potatoes and season with pepper.  Continue to cook uncovered for 20 minutes.
5. Stir in the cooked turkey and cook 10 minutes longer.
Makes 8 cups

Food Fact:

Barley dates back to the Stone Age.  The ancient Greeks relied on barley to make bread and athletes attributed much of their strength and physical growth to their barley rich diet.

Healthy Benefit:

Pearled barley in high in cholesterol- lowering fiber and is low in fat.  A single serving offers 11% of the RDA of iron and has a fair amount of folate and niacin.

Shopping Tip

You can find dried pearl barley in the supermarket aisle with the dried beans.


Substitution Tip:
If desired, substitute chicken for the turkey.

Weight Watchers POINTS PLUS 4

SKINNY FACTS: for 1 cup
162 cal, 2g fat, 10g protein, 26g carbs, 5g fiber, 418mg sodium, 5g sugar

FAT FACTS: for a regular cup of Turkey, Barley and Sweet Potato Soup
260 cal, 8g fat, 10g protein, 26g carbs, 4.8g fiber, 1074mg sodium, 5g sugar

Skinny Kitchen is your fun guide to healthy yet decadent-tasting foods. Each week we share skinny recipes, cooking tips, food finds, nutrition facts and WW POINTS on every recipe. Join Nancy Fox for the recipes and more at http://skinnykitchen.com/.

Mushroom Barely Soup with Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Mushroom Barely Soup with Roasted Brussel Sprouts - Seriously Soupy

After reading the title of this post I realized how much of a nightmare this might be for a child. Of course that is also a huge generalization; kids today have far more sophisticated palates. But, for me, the one veggie that I would never try, no matter if it was fried in butter or dipped in chocolate was brussel sprouts. Of course I later learned about the power of the sprout and really love to eat them roasted. For this soup, I thought they would make a nice addition a classic mushroom and barley that also included carrots, celery and leeks (had them around). This recipe was also made with an all-green roasted veggie broth that included broccoli, kale, celery, beet tops, and spinach. I also had these veggies lying around from the soup party and the soup cook-off that also needed to either be tossed or made into broth. Obviously, I choose the later. If you don't want to make the all-green broth, you can always use a simple veggie broth or rely on good-old fashioned fresh herbs. I hope you enjoy this one, brussel sprouts and all!