Nutrition Fact: Did you know February 4th is National Soup Day and February 13th is Italian Food Day? Celebrate these food holidays together with a healthy Italian Sausage Soup! Replacing pork sausage with turkey sausage can save you over 150 calories and over 15g of fat. Replacing regular sodium broth with low-sodium broth can save you over 800mg sodium, and replacing canned tomatoes with no-salt added canned tomatoes can save you around 100mg sodium per serving.
Cook: 15-20 min
Makes 4 servings: 1 1/3 cups soup with 1 1/2 teaspoons cheese
Ingredients
8 ounces hot or sweet turkey Italian sausage
2 cups low-fat, reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 (14.5-ounce) can no-salt added diced tomatoes with basil, garlic, and oregano
1/2 cup uncooked whole wheat pasta shells
2 cups bagged baby spinach leaves
2 tablespoons grated fresh Parmesan or Romano cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
Directions:
Heat a large saucepan over medium heat. Remove casings from sausage. Add sausage to pan, and cook about 5 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Drain and return to pan.
Add broth, tomatoes, and pasta to pan, and bring to a boil over high heat. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes or until pasta is done. Remove from heat and stir in spinach until wilted. Sprinkle each serving with cheese and basil.
Nutrition Information per serving
Calories: 216cal, Fat: 7g, Protein: 17g, Carbohydrates: 20g, Fiber: 1.5g, Sodium: 670mg
Adapted from cookinglight.com: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/italian-sausage-soup
Photo credit: La Mia Cucina on Visualhunt / CC BY-NC-ND