Roy’s Light Split-Pea Soup with Ham (or Without)

SERVES 6 to 8 (Makes about 3 quarts)

For 6 servings: 2 Better Balance Bites/Old Blue Points

Calories 370 Fat 9.8g Carbs 47.6g Protein 32.1g

Without Ham: 0 Better Balance Bites/Old Blue Points

Calories 281 Fat 3.5g Carbs 46.7g Protein 17.8g

For 8 servings: 2 Better Balance Bites/Old Blue Points

Calories 278 Fat 7.3g Carbs 35.7g Protein 24g

Without Ham: 0 Better Balance Bites/Old Blue Points

Calories 211 Fat 2.7g Carbs 35g Protein 13.4g

Ingredients

· Cooking spray

· 1 onion, chopped

· 2 carrots, peeled and chopped OR about 15 baby carrots, chopped

· 3 cloves garlic, minced, OR 1 Tbsp prepared minced garlic

· 1 pound dried split peas, picked over and rinsed well (see notes)

· 8 cups low-sodium chicken broth (see notes)

· 1 bay leaf

· 1 pound cooked ham steak, spiral ham, or Canadian bacon, chopped fine (see notes)

· Ground black pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Coat a large stockpot with cooking spray and set over medium heat. Once the pot is hot, add the onion, carrots, and garlic; cover and cook until vegetables are soft, 8 to 10 minutes.

2. Add peas, broth, and bay leaf; increase heat to high and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, partially cover, and simmer until peas are soft, about 1 hour. Discard bay leaf.

3. Using an immersion blender, blend to your preferred consistency. I usually only blend about half of the soup. You can also do this by putting about half of the soup into a blender, removing the fill/vent cap on the top, and covering the vent hole loosely with a twice-folded towel. CAUTION: Trying to blend hot liquids with the vent fully covered could cause the hot soup to push the cap off and erupt out of the blender.

4. Add the ham to the blended soup and heat through about 10 minutes. Add black pepper to taste. You shouldn’t need any salt unless using Canadian bacon. Serve.

Notes

· Not a fan of ham, or looking to lower the bites, points, or calories, just omit it.

· If you don’t have low-sodium chicken broth and you are adding the ham, reduce the broth to 6 cups and replace the other 2 cups with water.

· If you’re not using ham, you could use regular chicken broth if you’d like since there will be less salt without the ham.

· The soup can be refrigerated for several days or frozen for a month.

· Split peas continue to soak up liquid over time so the soup may be dense when reheated. If too thick, stir in 1/4 cup water at a time until the consistency is to your liking. Simmer over medium-low heat until the soup is hot.

· If you prefer a “creamier” pea soup, you can extend the cooking time until the peas reach your desired texture. You can also add up to 1/2 cup fat-free half & half OR up to 1 cup of almond milk without altering the bites/points.

· If you’d like to try for smoother peas without extending the cooking time, soak the peas in water (it should come about an inch above the peas) for 2 hours, then drain and rinse before cooking.