Healthy Endeavors: Developing Healthy Eating Habits for Life! » Legumes

Healthy and Delicious One-Pot Meal: Beans, Greens and Whole Grain Soup

Wendy — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 01:15:12 +0000

I’m a big fan of healthy meals that I can create in a single pot. It’s even better when they’re quick and simple to make. And that’s exactly what I did this afternoon. I whipped up a big pot of soup chock full of the healthiest ingredients – beans, kale, whole grains (buckwheat aka kasha) and organic tomatoes. The result? A light and delicious soup, low in fat and calories, high in fiber and all the right ingredients to keep your blood sugar and energy levels stable all afternoon (greens, grains and beans are all fabulous for that).

What’s even better, to make maximize my meal planning efforts, I doubled the recipe and immediately froze half of it (one of my favorite meal planning tricks, takes minimal effort). That way, Bruce and I don’t get sick of eating it all week and it gives us some ready made soup that we can dig into in coming weeks.

Check out the recipe below. I found this last year in Vegetarian Times and have adapted it to my liking.

Serves 6

Ingredients

1 Tbs. olive oil
1 large onion, coarsely chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 large clove garlic, minced (about 2 tsp.)
4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
1 1/2 cups cooked kasha (aka buckwheat — find at your local health food store)
1 15-oz. can crushed tomatoes (I love Muir organic fire roasted tomatoes)
1 15-oz. can kidney beans or black beans, drained and rinsed, divided
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. dried rosemary
1 bunch kale, washed, trimmed and chopped
3 Tbs. chopped fresh parsley
2 to 3 tsp. balsamic vinegar

Directions

1. Heat 1 Tbs. oil in large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, and cook 3 minutes, or until softened, stirring occasionally. Add garlic, and cook 5 minutes more, or until onion is lightly browned.
2. Stir in broth, kasha, tomatoes, 1 cup beans, oregano and rosemary. Bring to a boil.
3. Press half of kale into liquid with wooden spoon until it wilts. Press remaining kale into liquid.
4. Reduce heat to medium, and simmer 15 to 20 minutes, or until kale is tender.
5. Add parsley and stir in vinegar, and season with salt and pepper.

Do 15 minute meals really only take 15 minutes?

Wendy — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 13:58:13 +0000

Have you ever been sucked into seeing a recipe that looks simple and says it’s 15 minutes but it takes at least twice that? I’m always looking for shortcuts to simplify healthy eating, so when a recipe says 15 minutes, I’m naturally drawn to it. But the reality is, most recipes seem to take longer than they claim. Could be that I’m just slow in the kitchen and if I moved a little faster I could make the threshold. Could also be that the 15 minutes is predicated on having help in the kitchen to make it happen.

I put it to the test recently. I was going through a stack of recipes I’ve torn out from magazines and came across “Bean and Sausage Stew” from Real Simple magazine. The recipe looked great and I liked that it only had nine ingredients and required almost no chopping. Plus it’s healthy with fresh greens, tomatoes and beans. Did I make it in 15 minutes? Not quite, it actually took me 21 minutes, but that’s still pretty quick. The slow down? Washing and prepping the fresh kale took longer than I expected (handy tip: Trader Joe’s sells Southern Greens – turnip, mustard and spinach – already packaged). But it was easily balanced by the simplicity of the meal. And the great news is that it’s healthy and delicious!

How do I make recipes as quick as possible when time is a factor? I regularly stock up on staples and keep them on hand. I also make time on the weekends to plan menus, go to the store and do food prep, such as chopping veggies. That way I can easily prepare healthy meals when time is a factor.

What’s your experience with quick meals and what are you favorite tips? Share them here with our community. And check out this delicious recipe from Real Simple: Bean & Sausage Stew. Enjoy!

Food Focus: Beans

Wendy — Sun, 04 Feb 2007 17:43:55 +0000

Beans, or more accurately legumes, including peas and lentils, are an excellent source of plant-based protein. Beans are found in most traditional cultures as a staple food, offering grounding and strengthening properties that can enhance endurance. They offer a highly usable, highly absorbable source of calcium for the body. A very inexpensive source of high nutrition, beans can be rich, delicious and satisfying.

Lack of sexual energy is often due to over-taxed adrenal glands and kidneys. Beans are notorious for strengthening these organs (ever noticed the shape of a bean?) and can help restore vital energy as well as sexual energy.

Beans have a reputation for causing digestive distress, but this is usually because they have been undercooked or improperly prepared. To help reduce gas-forming properties, soak beans overnight prior to cooking, cook beans for a long time, and add spices like bay leaf, fennel, oregano or cumin. In addition, adding kombu, a sea vegetable, not only helps with digestion but improves flavor, adds minerals and nutrients, and speeds up the cooking process. And a word about salt…it’s best to add salt at the end of the cooking process once beans are tender, otherwise it will cause them to toughen up.