A big bowl of love!
About 7 years ago I started an amazing weight loss journey
where I lost 50 pounds, and tons of my own self doubts. Was I pretty enough?
Was I healthy enough? There was a bit of that, but the first time I felt
confident, especially when I could buy jeans in the lowest numbers possible. In
America, when you are a woman, being skinny equals winning, and I was winning.
When you least expect it in life, you hit those brick walls
with your face, breaking bones and spewing blood. I had a health problem
(non-diet related) I never thought that I would encounter, and boom! 10 pounds
was back on. I had to buy more new jeans, and fold the ones I had bought in
those precious low numbers away… temporarily. I would be back in them soon
enough. I wasn’t. The first 10 pounds crept into another 10, and then three
years later another deep depression was followed by another 5 pound weight
gain. Maybe it was all the wine.
Now I am back to my old habits, which is really building in
the fruits and vegetables. I aim for 2-3 pounds of veggies a day. Yes, you read
that right. 2-3 POUNDS. I am also eating about 1.5 pounds of fruit a day, which
is leaving my skin glowing. So how am I doing all of this? I thought I would
start posting up some of my recipes, ideas, and ways of getting things done
while building in the veggies, or saving time. Both help.
One of my favorite new recipes is this easy black bean soup
that is light, easy, and goes together in no time. I even included a calorie
count!!
Black Bean Veggie Soup
Makes 10 servings (1 cup each)
2 cans of black beans, 15 oz each, rinsed and drained
4 cups of water
2 cups of corn kernels
2 cubes of vegetable bouillon (each should make 1 cup)
4 medium to large roma tomatoes
2 cans of diced green chilies (4 oz each)
1 tablespoon of fresh Mexican oregano or 1 teaspoon of
dried, crumbled
2 small chili peppers
2 bunches of green onions
½ bunch of cilantro, diced
½ cup of shredded Daiya cheddar cheese or other vegan cheese
Drain and rinse
the black beans.
Add to a soup pot
along with 4 cups of water and the vegetable bouillon cubes and corn.
Dice the roma tomatoes
and add to the pot, with the diced green chilies.
Add the oregano
if using dried oregano.
Heat to a boil
and allow to cook until the tomatoes are starting to soften, about 5 minutes of
simmering time.
Meanwhile, slice
the chili peppers thinly.
Remove the roots
from the green onions, slice, and add.
Mince the
cilantro.
Mince the oregano
if using fresh.
Remove the soup
from the heat and stir in the fresh oregano, cilantro, green onions, Daiya and
chili peppers.
Allow to steep for
about 5 minutes, then serve.
I actually eat this 2 cups at a time, because that fills me
up better. However, the information below is based on a 1 cup serving. That
way, you can portion it how you like it.
1 cup is 150 calories, 7 grams of protein and 7 grams of
fiber.
