Lima Bean, Mushroom, and Barley Soup

Pictured are lima beans fresh from the garden before drying. Where I grew up, Indiana, we called the dried ones butter beans. The weather has turned unseasonably chilly and I had a fire in the woodstove last night and again this morning. It wasn’t too cold, but it did take the chill off from the rain. This cool weather has turned my thoughts to soup, always a challenge for a low sodium diet. My lima bean, portabella mushroom, and barley soup is hearty, filling, and low in sodium and fat. It also has a healthy amount of protein and blood-pressure-healthy celery.

Ingredients

2 C Large Dried Lima Beans-soaked overnight, drained
1 Stalk Celery- coarsely chopped
1 C Carrots-sliced
2 cloves Garlic
2 C Onion-chopped
2 C Portobello mushrooms
.5 C Pearled Barley
.5 C Apple cider vinegar

Soak beans overnight, at least 4 hours, drain and rinse, and add 8 cups of water, no salt added non-fat chicken broth, or vegetable broth. Add remaining ingredients and simmer until beans are tender, about two hours. Adjust the liquid level to your preference. My recipe makes about 12 cups. Each 1 cup serving contains 99.3 calories, .12 g fat, 6.52 g protein, 21.58 g carbohydrates, and 21.58 mg sodium. If you choose to add a half teaspoon of salt, it only brings the sodium level up to 111.63 mg.

Here is my recap for yesterday.

Daily Dietary Recap-4/26/2007
Calories	Protein	Carbohydrates	Sodium	Fat	% Calories from Fat
1364.5	68.84 g	220.01 g	964.57 mg	20.81 g	13.71%