Rosemary white bean soup

I much much much prefer dried beans over canned beans. I get to cook them with onions, olive oil, and herbs and don't have to guess how long they have been sitting in a can.

This is a great soup to take for lunch, or have for dinner with a hearty salad and whole grain bread with cheese and salami. I soak the beans in the morning before I leave for work (or on Sunday when making brunch) and make the beans in the evening before I start dinner (or just to stock up on soup for the week).

This soup is made with navy beans, rosemary and my home canned tomatoes.

Navy beans provide virtually fat-free high quality protein when combined with whole grains. A grain salad or hearty bread will go great with this soup. Navy beans are a very good source of folate, manganese, fibre, vitamin B1 as well as the minerals phosphorus, copper, magnesium and iron. Click for more information.

Tomatoes are also a star. One known tomato eating benefit is Lycopene. This carotenoid found in tomatoes has been studied for its antioxidant and cancer-preventing properties (including extensive studies on prostate cancer). The phytonutrients in tomatoes become more concentrated when they are cooked and more bioavailable when eaten with a little (or a lot of) oil. Tomatoes are also excellent source of vitamin C and vitamin A via a concentration of carotenoids including beta-carotene. These antioxidants travel through the body neutralizing dangerous free radicals that could otherwise damage cells, escalating inflammation and the progression or severity of asthma, colon cancer and other diseases. Click for more information



Music by Dave Brubeck

Learn how to prepare black beans here


Tuscan White Bean Soup