Progress Report, Spinach and White Bean Soup

SPINACH AND WHITE BEAN SOUP

2 cups chicken stock (homemade preferable, with carrot, celery, onion, and garlic, fat skimmed off)
4 cups water (I should have used less, as I needed to add bouillon to give it some flavor)
1/2 onion, chopped (I used red)
1/4 cup chopped green and red bell pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
three big handfuls (handsful?) fresh spinach, about six cups
1 cup navy beans
1 cup butter beans
Optional: 1 cup cooked pasta plus pesto (I used leftover PESTO PASTA)
Seasonings to taste--Italian herbs, salt and pepper, bouillon cubes

Simmer the stock, water, onion, pepper, and garlic together until flavors begin to release, then add the rest of the ingredients and simmer ten minutes to a half hour to meld flavors.

Verdict--Excellent. I had chicken on the side for my lunch mate to enjoy in her soup. The key is having good stock and seasonings. I think a veggie stock would work well, too, if it had plenty of body. Garlic is crucial.

TODAY'S MENU

Breakfast--Tuscan melon, halved red grapes, small local apple, flax seed meal

Lunch--SPINACH WHITE BEAN SOUP (two bowls full!)

Snack--Large pear, one ounce or so raw almonds and roasted mixed nuts

Supper--Small can V-8, 1/2 cup baked butternut squash with sprinkles of nutmeg and cinnamon, one cup cooked frozen peas mixed with a small can of sliced mushrooms, a few sliced grape tomatoes, slivers of sage from the garden, and a dash of dry sherry. (I should have left out the tomatoes--they were pretty but the flavor wasn't right with the rest of the mellowness.)

PROGRESS REPORT

Down three pounds this week, for a total of six pounds in two weeks!