On The First Day of Christmas, My True Love Made For Me……

Lets start the holiday feasting with a warm and hearty soup that’s packed with protein. This soup contains plenty of healthy ingredients such as, black beans, pumpkin seeds, kale and garlic which all combine so well to make it taste amazing! In addition to being so healthy, its fast and easy to make!

Spicy Black Bean Soup

Ingredients

• 1 – 15 oz can black beans
• 1 – 15 oz can yellow corn
• 1 – 15 oz can diced tomatoes
• 1 zucchini diced
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 onion diced
• 1 cup collard greens or kale chopped
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1 tsp taco seasoning
• 1/2 tsp red chili powder
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 green jalapeno minced
• 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• sea salt and black pepper to taste
• 1 tsp coconut oil

Directions

• In a large stock pot heat coconut oil and saute onions until translucent
• Add garlic and zucchini
• Add vegetable broth, black beans, corn and diced tomatoes and bring to boil
• Add red chili powder, ground cumin, taco seasoning, jalapeno, sea salt and black pepper
• Reduce heat to simmer, add collard greens or kale, pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds and simmer for 15 minutes
• Turn stove off and add chopped cilantro
• Serve and Enjoy!

Serves: 4

Prep time and cook time: 30 min

Congratulations to the Winner of Our Contest – Kristie Wasnesky! Quinoa Stuffed Acorn Squash

Thank you to all the participants for submitting your healthy recipes.  We had a great time going through each recipe.  Choosing a winner was a difficult task! But we are confident that we made the right choice and we hope you agree.  Check back frequently for future contests for your chance to win!

Kristie has kindly requested that we donate the $25 dollars to Whiz Kids charity instead of receiving the Whole Foods Gift Card.

Thank you Kristie!

Here is Her Recipe and Photograph:

Ingredients

• 3 acorn squash
• 10 baby carrots, chopped finely
• 2 celery stalks, chopped finely
• 1 apple, chopped finely
• 1 small red onion, chopped finely
• 1/2 can black beans
• 1 cup cooked Quinoa, made according to package directions
• 2 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tbsp garlic grape seed oil
• 6 tbsp vegetable broth (optional)
• sea salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350*
2. Cut squash in half lengthwise and scoop out seeds. Place cut side down in dish and bake for 30 minutes.
3. Heat oil in a pan and saute carrots, celery, apple and onion about 5 minutes. Add cooked Quinoa, cumin and beans. Saute about 1 minute more. At this point mine looked a little dry so I added 6 Tbsp. of vegetable stock to moisten.
4. Add mixture to cooked squash

Toddler Food – Baby Burrito Bowl

Ingredients

• 1/2 avocado
• Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup brown rice uncooked
• 1/4 can black beans
• pinch of ground cumin
• himalayan sea salt to taste
• black pepper to taste

Directions

• Cook brown rice until soft and tender
• Rinse black beans under water
• In a small sauce pan, heat black beans on low heat and add cumin, salt, black pepper and squeeze of lemon
• Mash beans with a fork
• Add brown rice (about 1/2 a cup cooked) and mash with fork
• Mash avocado, add a small amount of lemon juice and add this to brown rice and black beans
• Mix well

Recommended for toddlers 1 and older

Spicy Black Bean Soup

Ingredients

• 1 – 15 oz can black beans
• 1 – 15 oz can yellow corn
• 1 – 15 oz can diced tomatoes
• 1 zucchini diced
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 onion diced
• 1 cup collard greens or kale chopped
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1 tsp taco seasoning
• 1/2 tsp red chili powder
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 green jalapeno minced
• 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• sea salt and black pepper to taste
• 1 tsp coconut oil

Directions

• In a large stock pot heat coconut oil and saute onions until translucent
• Add garlic and zucchini
• Add vegetable broth, black beans, corn and diced tomatoes and bring to boil
• Add red chili powder, ground cumin, taco seasoning, jalapeno, sea salt and black pepper
• Reduce heat to simmer, add collard greens or kale, pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds and simmer for 15 minutes
• Turn stove off and add chopped cilantro
• Serve and Enjoy!

Food of the Week – Black Beans

Description

• Flavor has been compared to that of mushrooms
• Velvety texture

Health Benefits

• Provide support to digestive tract, particularly the colon
• Good source of phytonutrients
• Excellent source of molybdenum, folate, dietary fiber and tryptophan
• Decrease risk of colon cancer
• Protein and fiber content support blood sugar balance and regulation
• Soaking black beans in water reduces some of the flatulence containing substances in the beans
• Decrease blood cholesterol
• Insoluble fiber decreases risk of heart attacks and coronary heart disease

How to Select and Store

• Make sure that there is no evidence of moisture or insect damage and that they are whole and not cracked
•  When purchasing in bulk section, make sure that the bins containing the black beans are covered and that the store has a good product turnover to ensure the beans’ maximal freshness
• There is little difference in the nutritional value of canned black beans and those you cook yourself, although you have to beware of cans lined with BPA

How to Prepare

• Before washing black beans, spread them out on a light colored plate or cooking surface to check for, and remove, small stones, debris or damaged beans
• Then place the beans in a strainer, rinsing them thoroughly under cool running water.
• To shorten their cooking time and make them easier to digest, black beans should be presoaked (presoaking has been found to reduce raffinose- and stachyose-type oligosaccharides, sugars associated with causing flatulence.) There are two basic methods for presoaking. For each you should start by placing the beans in a saucepan and adding two to three cups of water per cup of beans.
• The first method is to boil the beans for two minutes, take the pan off the heat, cover and allow to stand for two hours.
• The alternative method is to simply soak the beans in water for eight hours or overnight, placing the pan in the refrigerator so that the beans will not ferment.
• Before cooking the beans, regardless of method, drain the soaking liquid and rinse the beans with clean water

How to Cook

• To cook the beans, you can either cook them on the stovetop or use a pressure cooker
• For the stovetop method, add three cups of fresh water or broth for each cup of dried beans. The liquid should be about one to two inches above the top of the beans. Bring the beans to a boil and then reduce to a simmer, partially covering the pot. If any foam develops, you can skim it off during the simmering process. Black beans generally take about one and one-half hours to become tender using this method.
• They can also be cooked in a pressure cooker where they take about one-half hour to prepare

All content courtesy of whfoods.org

Veggie Chili

Ingredients

• 2 large onions chopped
• 1 green bell pepper diced
• 3 large garlic cloves minced
• 1/2 jalapeno chili minced
• 2 carrots diced
• 1 celery stalk diced
• 2 cans diced tomatoes with juice
• 2 zucchini diced
• 1 can black beans, rinsed
• 1 can kidney beans, rinsed
• 3 tbsp cilantro chopped
• 3 scallions finely chopped
• 1/2 red chili powder
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• sea salt to taste
• 1 tbsp coconut oil

Directions

• Heat coconut oil in a stock pot over medium heat
• Saute onion, bell pepper, garlic and jalapeno for about 5 min
• Add chili powder, cumin, sea salt
• Add tomatoes with juice, carrots, celery, and zucchini
• Simmer partially covered for 15 minutes until vegetables are tender. stir occasionally
• Add beans and simmer
• Top with colantro and scallions

Black Bean Quesadillas – Gluten Free

Ingredients

• See bean dip recipe
• 1 green bell pepper diced
• 1 red bell pepper diced
• 2 tbsp cilantro chopped
• 2 tomatoes diced
• 1 tsp taco seasoning (click here to see the brand we use)
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• Corn tortillas
• Coconut oil

Directions

• In a small skillet heat a small amount of coconut oil.  Add green and red bell pepper and saute for 2 min.  Add tomato and saute for another 2 minutes, add taco seasoning and garlic powder, mix well and set aside.
• Put a tablespoon of bean dip in corn tortilla and spread it on half of the corn tortilla
• Then put a tablespoon of vegetable mixture and spread on the same half of the tortilla.  Sprinkle some cilantro on top
• Fold tortilla in half
• In a skillet heat a little bit of coconut oil
• Place corn tortilla in skillet and brown one each side for 3-5 min
• Serve with salsa and guacamole

Black Bean Burgers

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1 tbsp pumpkin seeds
• 2 tbsp onion
• 1 medium carrot
• 1/2 green bell pepper
• 1 jalepeno – halved with seeds removed
• 1 – 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 tbsp water
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• coconut oil to cook with

Directions

• You need a Blendtec blender to make these burgers
• Add oats and pumpkin seeds to Blendtec blender jar and secure lid.  Press “speed up” until you reach speed 5.  Run cycle for 20 seconds and press “pulse” to stop blender.  Set aside this oat and pumpkin mixture in a mixing bowl
• Add onion, carrot and bell pepper and jalapeno to Blentec jar.  Add enough water to just cover vegetables.  Secure lid and “Pulse” 8 t0 10 times.  Pour this mixture over a fine mesh strainer and press out liquid.  Set aside strained veggies in another mixing bowl
• Add 1/2 cup black beans mixing bowl.  Add the remaining black beans to Blendtec jar with 2 tbsp water and seasonings. Secure lid and select “sauces”.
• Add bean blend to mixing bowl and incorporate with other ingredients
• Allow mix to sit while skillet heats up
• Once heated add a small amt of coconut oil to skillet and scoop 1/2 cup of mix per patty and flatten with back of spatula
• Cook patties until heated through
• Serve with hummus or salsa

Makes about 4-5 patties

Prep and Cooking Time: 30 min

Bean Dip

This Bean Dip can be layered in a tray with guacamole and salsa and eaten with corn chips or can be used in vegetarian tacos.  Black beans are high in protein and fiber.  They contain potent antioxidants that protect the cells in  your body.

Ingredients

• 1 can black beans or pinto beans or 1 can refried black beans (so you don’t have to puree – buy brand without msg)
• 1/2 onion diced
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 3 tablespoons tomato puree
• 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp red chili powder
• 1 tsp taco seasoning (ensure you purchase one without MSG)
• 2 tsp coconut oil
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• Sea salt to taste

Directions

1. Rinse canned beans in cold running water
2. In a blender, puree black beans or pinto beans
3. In a small sauce pan heat coconut oil
4. Add onion and saute on medium heat until onion is translucent
5. Add garlic, red chili powder, black pepper and cumin, saute another minute
6. Add crushed tomatoes, saute for 2 minutes
7. Add bean puree to sauce pan and heat on low heat and mix well
8. Add lemon juice and sea salt

Prep Time and Cook Time: 15 min

Serves: 2-4