Hearty Italian Sausage Soup loses calories

McClatchy Newspapers (MCT) - When you head out to those holiday parties, don't go hungry. An empty stomach makes those high-fat appetizers and sweets even more tempting, but eating a bowl of this healthy and hearty soup beforehand can help curb your appetite and leave you some calories to spare.

I adapted this soup from a recipe on Olive Garden's Web site. To lighten it up, I cut the amount of Italian sausage in half, added some navy beans and slightly reduced the rice that the original recipe called for.

My changes to this soup trimmed the calories by 21 percent and sliced away 39 percent of the fat. You can have a cup of my Italian Sausage Soup for 143 calories and 2.5 fat grams.

KATHY'S ITALIAN SAUSAGE SOUP

˝ lb. sweet Italian sausage, ground

2/3 cup uncooked long-grain white rice

6 cups beef broth (low sodium if desired)

1 can (15 oz.) navy beans, rinsed and drained

1 can (15 oz.) diced tomatoes

Ľ teaspoon pepper

1 box (10 oz.) frozen spinach, thawed and drained and squeezed dry

Cook ground sausage over medium heat in a soup pot until the meat is browned and crumbly. Add rice, beef broth, beans, tomatoes and pepper. Bring to a simmer. Cover and cook 12 to 15 minutes or until rice is tender. Stir in chopped spinach and let simmer for a few minutes.

Makes 8 1-cup servings

Per cup: 143 calories, 2.5 fat grams, 8mg cholesterol, 23 carb grams, 9 protein grams, 736mg sodium, 4 fiber grams

_Adapted from an OliveGarden.com recipe

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(Reach Kathy Manweiler at 316-268-6266 or kmanweiler@wichitaeagle.com.)

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© 2008, The Wichita Eagle (Wichita, Kan.).