Black Bean Soup

With all this cold weather lately, I've really been craving some warm, delicious soup. I wanted something different however, and something that didn't have meat or pasta. (I'm being difficult here, I know) My goal for 2014 is to find more healthy meals to cook and enjoy, especially meals that have no meat or grains. I've been watching FAR too many documentaries lately about processed foods and how horrible they are for us (including sugar and white flour), and I've been doing my best to cut them out of our diets 99% of the time. We gotta eat more fruits and veggies people!

So...here is my version of an (almost) vegetarian black bean soup. If you wanted to change it up a bit and add some meat, you could add a bit of hamburger, ground turkey, or even shredded chicken.

3 (15 oz) cans of black beans
1 cup of chopped onions and peppers (I used frozen)
1/2 cup of salsa or canned tomatoes
1/2 cup of chopped carrots
1/2 cup chopped celery
2 cups of chicken broth (you could use any kind of broth really)
2 tbls minced garlic (or about 2 cloves)
2 tbls chili powder
3 tbls lime juice
2 tbls fresh cilantro, chopped finely
salt & pepper to taste

Mix all the ingredients together in a saucepan and cook until the vegetables are at at texture that you're happiest with. I like mine with a bit of crunch yet so my pot only took about 30 minutes to cook.

Serve alone or paired with some chips, sour cream and fresh salsa.  This is by far one of my favorite meals for the winter time!

And because I'm trying to eat healthy this new year, here are the nutritional values for my recipe:

Per Serving: (Serves about 6)

Calories: 216
Carbs: 37
Fat: 2
Protein: 11
Sodium: 836
Sugar: 4

Let me know how you like it if you try it!