Spoon it up: 2 protein-packed soups

Savoury soups are a healthful and delicious way to add protein to your diet. The recipes below use a combination or turkey and beans to give these soups an extra protein boost.

A combination of enriched rice, fresh spinach and lean turkey makes this a healthy source of the B vitamins needed to produce energy.

Preparation time 15 minutes

Cooking time 1 hour

Serves 4

• 2 medium whole heads garlic, unpeeled
• 30 ml (2 tbsp) tomato paste
• 2 cans (398 ml/14-oz) cans low-sodium chicken stock
• 250 ml (1 c) cooked cubed turkey
• 250 ml (1 c) cooked long-grain white rice
• 375 ml (3⁄4 lb) spinach, stemmed and coarsely chopped
• 1 ml (1⁄4 tsp) black pepper
• 1 ml (1⁄4 tsp) chili flakes, or to taste
• 15 ml (1 tbsp) freshly squeezed lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F).

2. Cut top third off garlic heads and discard. Wrap each head in foil. Bake until very soft, about 50 minutes. Let cool. Remove foil. Squeeze out pulp into a small bowl.

3. Combine garlic pulp and tomato paste in a large saucepan. Stir in stock. Bring to a boil. Add the turkey, rice, spinach, pepper and chili flakes. Simmer, uncovered, eight minutes. Just before serving, stir in lemon juice.

Per serving: 197 calories, 19 g protein, 4 g fat (including 1 g saturated fat), 30 mg cholesterol, 24 g carbohydrates, 3 g fibre, 208 mg sodium

Spinach and beans provide folate for fighting heart disease and preventing birth defects in the early weeks of pregnancy.

Preparation time 5 minutes

Cooking time 25 minutes

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 15 ml (1 tbsp) canola oil
• 4 small Italian-style turkey sausages, casings removed
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 5 ml (1 tsp) dried sage
• 1 can (796 ml/19-oz) can white kidney or other white beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can (398 ml/14-oz) can low-sodium chicken stock
• 1 L (4 c) torn spinach leaves or 150 g (5 oz) chopped frozen spinach freshly ground black pepper, to tastedash of Tabasco
• 30 ml (2 tbsp) finely chopped parsley
• 15 ml (1 tbsp) freshly squeezed lemon juice50 ml (1⁄4 c) grated Parmesan cheese

Getting started 

1. Heat oil in a large non-stick saucepan over medium heat. Add sausages. Cook, stirring to break them up, until browned, three minutes. Drain on paper towel.

2. Cook garlic and sage in the pan for 30 seconds. Add the beans, stock and 350 millilitres (1 1⁄2 c) water. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

3. Purée half the beans in a food processor, adding a few spoonfuls of the cooking liquid. Return bean mixture to pan. Add sausage, spinach, salt, pepper and Tabasco. Simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes. Stir in the parsley and lemon juice. Sprinkle with parmesan.

Per serving: 173 calories, 12 g protein, 7 g fat (including 1 g saturated fat), 21 mg cholesterol, 15 g carbohydrates, 4 g fibre, 890 mg sodium

Most soups will thicken if they are made ahead, refrigerated and reheated before serving. Should a soup get too thick, stir in enough extra stock or water to achieve the desired consistency.

Enjoy the comfort and the last of these tasty recipes.