Sodium in Great Northern White Chili Recipe

[Calistoga Bill]

Here's a recipe from meatlessmonday.com. I was really surprised it has 980mg of sodium per 220 calorie serving. I imagine the vegetable broth is the main culprit. I'd think if you use all fresh ingredients and make your own vegetable stock, you could eliminate almost all the sodium. Also, you could eliminate the cooking spray, although one molecule of Pam no-fat olive oil spray (per Jeff's instructions) would probably be o.k.


Great Northern White Chili
Makes 8 servings

Great Northern beans are large and white - and native to North America. They're most often used in soups and cassoulets.

1 medium onion, chopped
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 (15-ounce) cans Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15-ounce)can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
4 cups vegetable broth
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 (4-ounce) can diced green chiles, drained
1 (14-ounce) can white sweet corn, drained

Coat a large pot with nonstick cooking spray, then sauté the onion and garlic over medium heat for 3-5 minutes, until tender. Stir frequently so vegetables don't stick. Empty one can of the Great Northern beans into a food processoror blender and process with one cup of the vegetable broth until smooth. Add everything to the pot: the pureed bean mixture, the second can of Great Northern beans,the garbanzo beans, the remaining 3 cups of vegetable broth, chili powder, cumin, oregano, green chiles, and corn. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cook for 20 minutes. Garnish with a dollop of tomato salsa.

Nutrition Information per Serving
Calories 220, Total Fat 2g, Saturated Fat 0g, Cholesterol 0mg, Sodium 980mg, Carbohydrates 40g, Fiber 9g, Protein 13g

[JeffN]

Hi Bill

Thanks for the recipe. You are correct in the broth is contributing much of the sodium.

The recipe can be greatly improved by using Eden Foods Beans, which have no salt added, and while there is no low sodium, or no salt added broth, one could easily use just water, or make their own broth fairly easily.

Sauteing the veggies in oil is also not necessary.

Making those few changes really improves the recipe, nutritionally speaking.

In Health
Jeff Novick, MS, RD

[Calistoga Bill]

If you'd like to make homemade broth, here's a recipe from whfoods.org

Vegetable Broth

1 large carrot (scrubbed and cut into ½ inch slices)
2 large celery stalks (cut into ½ inch slices)
1 medium yellow onion (cut into large pieces)
2 large bay leaves, 10 sprigs fresh parsley (left whole)
8 cups of filtered water.

Optional ingredients: 4-5 cloves garlic (that have been hit with the flat side of a knife), ½ tsp sea salt, ½ cup tomato sauce (for tangy broth).

Place vegetables, herbs and any optional ingredients in a large stock pot with water.
Cover pot and bring to a boil. It's important to cover the vegetables with water before heating, so that the nutrients from the vegetables will go into the water.
When broth boils, reduce heat to low and continue cooking, covered, for 45 minutes to 1 hour. It's important to keep the pot covered during this time so the broth won't evaporate.
Once it's cooled, strain the broth, and place broth in an airtight container and store in either the refrigerator or freezer.

You can store homemade broth in a sealed container in the refrigerator for several days.
LEAVE OUT THE SALT.

[auntemmy]

Yummy! Thanks Bill!