Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Behold da Powa'!

Beans! These lil' legumes have more power than you know! Well, some of you might know and I'm not talking about their reputation of making people toot excessively. Let me help you understand why these babies are so great.

They are cheap! Lately, I've been buying a majority of my beans in bulk, soaking and cooking them. Doing this takes a little more time and planning, but it's so worth it. Some organic beans cost $1.45 - 2.00! Buy a big ol' bag of dried beans and you'll save more than you know!

Lentils, kidneys, fava beans, etc. all are loaded with protein, fiber, calcium and plenty of vitamins and minerals. They're great to satisfy a hungry belly for hours, I guarantee these lil' buggers stay with you longer than a bowl of oatmeal. They're delicious and quite nutritious!

Beans are so versatile, too. Use them in a salad, soup, mash them together to make a burger or use them just as a side. Whatever, try something new- Make spaghetti and bean balls!

I had leftovers from making enchiladas earlier this week and thought to put them all together in a black bean soup. I wouldn't necessarily categorize this a 'garbage soup', which has anything and everything from your refrigerator in it, but pretty it's close. You could make this with plenty of variations.

Leftover Black Bean soup
1 1/2 cup black beans
1 onion- chopped
1 tablespoon oil
1 can chopped or diced tomatoes
1 cup corn
1 jalapeno- chopped with it's seeds
Crushed red pepper to taste
1 1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
salt n' pepper
a little juice from a lime

Saute the onion with the oil. I added a bit of garlic powder in this phase, too. When the onions are translucent, toss in the beans, tomatoes, pepper and all the spices. Simmer for a bit and before serving add the cilantro.

Garnish with fresh cilantro, avocado and a lime wedge. I was just so happy that I made another whole meal from the leftovers of another- and it was far from being sloppy seconds!

1 comment:

  1. Soup looks awesome! I'm all about lentils and beans and such things, too, and I use them all the time in my healthy vegan recipes.

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