Fast and Furious Cook’s Black Bean Soup Recipe

‘Tis the Season to Eat Smarter

Here we are at the start of the new year and already the television and radio campaigns are hitting us with weight loss, exercise commercials and stories. I heard a story on the radio this morning on bariatric surgery for those who just can’t seem to lose weight. That is one serious way to try and lose weight stapling your stomach! Surgery is not something to take lightly. I have watched the television show The Biggest Loser enough to have seen interviews with some of the contestants that had this type of surgery to lose weight. It didn’t work for any of them or they wouldn’t be on the show.

Hot and healthy soup.

I was over weight(topping out at 190) for about ten years towards the end of my twenty year cooking career and was lucky to be able to figure out what worked for me without having to try something as radical as surgery. I’m no expert on nutrition, but from my experience I can tell you it’s not rocket science to eat healthy. I dropped most of my thirty pounds in 60 days from eating a low fat, low sugar diet of my own design, and ate that way for the next two years. I kept off the weight and felt great!

I’ll share the key points of my current eating and exercise program with you to see if it can help those of you who might want to lose weight and feel better.

Eat three meals a day at the same time each day.

Eat low fat, low processed foods, or non processed foods.

Don’t eat past 6 pm, or whatever time is four hours before going to bed.

Exercise at least thirty minutes per day six days per week. Walking or bike riding is great!

Eat enough that you don’t feel deprived.

Have a splurge meal once every week or two, or splurge snack.

Eat lots of vegetables and beans.

Eat an apple a day.

Consult with a doctor, and or nutritionist.

See yourself as being thinner, and enjoy the ride.

After I got off this strict way of eating about twenty years ago I gained some of the weight back, but kept refining my eating habits until just three years ago fine tuned my eating to where I don’t have to worry about gaining weight again. Now I eat a diet of about 80% vegetarian/vegan meals to 20% meals with meat. Most of the meat I eat is wild salmon from Alaska, a sustainable healthy food source. I also eat chicken, and lamb two to four times per month.

Most of the recipes I have developed here on my blog are to reflect what has worked for me. I believe they are simple, healthy recipes that will work for you too. After all, the recipes reflect 42 years of cooking experience! What’s most important after the fact that they are healthy is they taste great too! Give it a try and see if this is the year you start eating healthier, and feeling better using my Fast and Furious Cook recipes.

Here is one of my favorite soups for you to start the new year right. It’s a black bean soup recipe I developed that takes about 25-30 minutes start to finish that tastes great and is good for you too! Please give it a try and leave your comments. Feel free to share with family and friends too.

Fast and Furious Cook’s Black Bean Soup

the ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil, or water, see note

1/2 cup yellow onion diced small

1/2 cup celery diced small

1-2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic

1 teaspoon ground cumin

2 cups chicken or vegetable stock

2 cups cooked black beans

salt and pepper

In a two quart pot saute onion, celery and garlic on medium low heat stirring often for five minutes.

Add cumin and continue cooking on medium low heat for three more minutes stirring often.

Add stock and increase heat to medium high while stirring well. Bring to a simmer and continue cooking for five minutes.

Add beans and simmer for five to seven minutes.

Using an immersion blender puree the soup, or a tabletop blender will do.

Taste the soup and add salt and pepper if needed.

Serves two but is easily doubled.

Note:

For a lower fat version use 1/4 inch of water instead of oil when sauteeing the onions, celery and garlic.

Top with a bit of steamed rice or quinoa if you like. I used a quarter cup of cooked quinoa in mine.