- 2 cups (a 480ml bag) dried split peas

- 12 cups water

- 4 bay leaves

- Sea Salt

- 1 Tbsp olive oil

- 1 large yellow onion, peeled and chopped

- 4 ribs celery, trimmed and chopped

- 3 thick carrots, peeled and chopped

- 2 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth

- 6 cups water

- 1 tsp fresh thyme, chopped

- 1 1/2 cups cubed roasted turkey breast (if you don’t want to roast it yourself, purchase it already roasted from your local deli.)

Prep work: Put dried peas in a large saucepan and cover with 12 cups water. Add 2 of the bay leaves and sea salt and bring to a boil. Let cook on medium heat for 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.

In a dutch oven, or heavy soup pan, place olive oil and heat over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and carrots. Saute for 8 minutes until onion begins to turn translucent.

Add chicken broth or your preferred cooking liquid, and 6 cups of water. Add remaining 2 bay leaves, peas, and thyme and bring to a boil. Add roasted turkey breast. Reduce heat and cover. Let simmer for an hour. The peas need to be soft. Check the pot now and then since the peas have a tendency to settle to the bottom and burn. You’ll have to break them up by stirring them.

Remove the bay leaves and season with sea salt and fresh ground pepper. Serve hot!

(This recipe comes from Tosca Reno’s “The Eat Clean Diet Cookbook” and is called Split Pea Soup)

WHY  IS  IT  HEALTHY? : Many people mistakenly believe that dried fruits and vegetables have no nutritional value. While drying does reduce the potency of some nutritional elements, there are also several health-essential elements left in tact. Dried peas are packed with fiber to help reduce cholesterol, stabilize blood sugar, and reduce heart disease. Fiber is far from all that dried peas have to offer though, they provide excellent amounts of 4 important minerals, 2 B-vitamins, and protein–all with virtually no fat. This soup also has a good amount of veggies! Celery believe it or not, is not just water. It contains a large amount of Vitamin C, as well as other compounds including phthalides (which helps lower cholesterol), and coumarins (which are useful in preventing cancer). Carrots of course are an excellent source of antioxidants and are the richest vegetable source of Vitamin A. These help protect against heart disease and cancer and also promote good vision, especially night vision! And finally: roasted turkey breast. Split pea soup usually calls for ham which is much higher in fat than turkey. If you are a vegetarian, you can just omit the turkey all together, but if you aren’t, the turkey really adds some great flavor and infuses this healthy soup with some great lean protein!