This is one of my family’s favorite soups!!! The barley adds an amazing amount of fiber and the squash, carrots, celery and onions are loaded with vitamins. You can replace the turkey with chicken, if desired.  The skinny for 1 cup, 142 calories, 1 gram of fat, 5 grams of fiber and 3 Weight Watchers POINTS PLUS.  It’s so hearty you can serve this as main course soup.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

1 (48 ounce) container Swanson’s reduced-sodium chicken broth

1 (32-oz) container Swanson’s reduced-sodium chicken broth

1 cup dried pearl barley

1 teaspoon olive oil

2 cloves fresh garlic, minced

1½ cups carrots, sliced

1½ cups celery, sliced

1½ cups onions, chopped

1 (12 oz) bag peeled and chopped butternut squash or 2 ½ cups butternut squash, peeled and chopped, see shopping tip

½ teaspoon dried thyme

½ teaspoon dried sage

Fresh ground pepper, to taste

1 pound cooked turkey breasts or chicken, (boneless, skinless), cubed

Instructions

1. In a large pot, add the chicken broth and barley. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

2. In the meantime, in a nonstick pan add the olive oil, garlic, carrots, celery, onions, and sauté until soft (~ 5 minutes).

3. Add the sautéed vegetables to the broth. Cook uncovered for 30 minutes

4. Add the butternut squash, thyme, sage and fresh ground pepper. Continue to cook uncovered for 25 minutes. Add the cooked turkey and stir with a rubber spatula so the squash doesn’t get mushy. Cook for 5 minutes more.

5. This soup freezes great. This can also be made with cooked chicken.

Makes 12 cups, 6 (2-cups) main course servings and 12 (1-cup) first course servings

Food Fact
Barley dates back to the Stone Age. The ancient Greeks relied on barley to make bread and athletes attributed much of their strength and physical growth to their barley rich diet.

Healthy Benefits
Pearled barley in high in cholesterol-lowering fiber and is low in fat. A single serving offers 11% of the RDA of iron and has a fair amount of folate and niacin.

Even though I love the flavor of Swanson’s reduced-sodium chicken broth, if you’re on a low sodium diet, choose a chicken broth that has less sodium. There are many brands to choose from. This recipe calls for a total of 10 cups broth.

Shopping Tip
You can find dried pearl barley in the supermarket aisle with the dried beans.

Weight Watchers (old points) 2
Weight Watchers POINTS PLUS 3