You can have “homemade” chicken soup quickly with the help of a store-bought rotisserie chicken. The mildly seasoned plain or lemon pepper chickens are recommended. This soup uses protein-packed beans instead of noodles, but you‘re welcome to substitute ¼ cup of egg noodles for the beans if you seek a classic chicken noodle soup. Also, you can boost the nutritional value by adding a few handfuls of baby spinach right before serving. This recipe serves 6 to 8.

Preparation

1. Remove wings from chicken and reserve. Remove skin from breast and discard. Shred the meat from the breast and break off breastbones.

2.   In a stockpot over medium heat, add oil. Sauté the carrots, celery, onion, chicken wings and breastbones for 8 to 10 minutes, or until vegetables soften.

3.   Add water and chicken broth and bring to a boil, stirring to combine. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Add beans and chicken meat and cook for 5 minutes. If too thick, add additional broth or water. Discard bones and wings before serving. Season with salt and pepper.

Ingredients

1 rotisserie chicken breast section, or 3 cups chopped white chicken meat

1 tablespoon canola oil

3 carrots, sliced

2 celery stalks, sliced

1 onion, chopped

2 cups water

6 cups reduced–sodium chicken broth

1 15-ounce can Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Nutritional information

per serving:

235 calories

5 grams total fat

60 milligrams cholesterol

675 milligrams sodium

17 grams total carbohydrate

5 grams dietary fiber

5 grams sugars

28 grams protein

Source: American Cancer Society's "The Great American Eat-Right Cookbook"

This article appears in the spring 2018 issue of Upstate Health magazine