Farmers Market Dinner: White Bean Soup with Rainbow Chard

On Sunday morning, Andrew and I ventured down to the local farmer's market with our coffee to see what produce looked appealing and to enjoy the morning sunshine. We've been trying to eat really healthy lately, and wanted to try something new to mix up our weekly dinner routine. 

We ended up coming home with fresh rainbow chard and carrots for only $3! Since we weren't sure what to make for dinner, and I had never cooked with rainbow chard before, I did a little Googling. I stumbled upon this recipe originally from Cooking Light which inspired our dinner.

Inspiration for dinner!! 

White Bean Soup with Rainbow Chard
*Yields 4 generous servings

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons olive oil

4 slices bacon

1 garlic clove

1 cup chopped onion

3/4 cup chopped celery

3/4 cup chopped carrots

3/4 cup chopped rainbow chard (ribs only)

3/4 cup chopped red bell pepper

1/2 jalapeno, diced

2 bay leaves

1 cup water

1 can low sodium chicken broth

2 (19-ounce) cans white beans (we used 1 cannellini and one white kidney beans) - drained, not rinsed.

2-3 cups roughly chopped rainbow chard leaves

2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

Fresh cracked pepper

Directions:

Cook bacon, set aside. Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the garlic, onion, celery, carrot, rainbow chard ribs, bell pepper, and jalapeno; sauté for 3 minutes or until soft. Next, add the water, beans, bay leaves, and broth; bring soup to a boil. Partially cover, reduce heat, and simmer soup for 20 minutes. Add the rainbow chard leaves, parsley and cracked pepper, cook until leaves wilt, about 5 minutes. Discard bay leaves.  

We both loved the soup and ate it for dinner two nights this week. It's so filling and satisfying, plus I like knowing that all the ingredients are fresh and healthy. With all these weddings and events coming up this summer, I'm trying to be extra cautious of what I put into my body! 

I hope you enjoy this recipe. It's so easy to throw together, especially if you have a food processor to help with the chopping!