If you follow me on twitter or facebook, then you know I've been on a mission to lose baby weight. Well, actually, I had the weight before the last two babies...I typically call it "doctorate weight" as I gained the majority of it slowly over three years while my hubs was in graduate school. I tried to embrace my abundance and think of it as "just more of me to love", while reminding myself that "fat people are happy people"...but we all know that no one really wants to carry around extra poundage. The time has come to bid the superfluous me "good-bye". After downloading the "my fitness pal" app and diligently attempting to count calories, I became painfully aware of just how much extra I was taking in on a daily basis. OUCH. With that realization, I decided it was time to change up some of our typical meals - the old standards - and trade them in for lighter, healthier, and lower calorie editions that are more likely to fit in to my daily caloric boundaries. So...if you're stopping in to find another baked goods recipe or a delicious buttery snack...you won't find one here for a while. Such things have been put on the back burner (no pun intended). This black bean soup is roughly 150 calories a serving and full of flavor, not to mention extremely quick and easy to prepare. My new fast food.
Black Bean Beauty
1 Tbs. olive oil
4 onions (yes - FOUR!) chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
2 cans chicken broth
1 1/2 cup water
2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 scallions, thinly sliced
Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat; add onions and garlic; cook, stirring, until onions are softened - about 5 minutes. Stir in beans, broth water, cumin and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool 5 minutes. Puree soup, (in batches) in a food processor or blender. It should look something like this before pureeing...
Be careful not to fill the processor too full (as I did) or messiness will quickly follow. Return pureed soup to saucepan and reheat over medium heat. Sprinkle with cilantro and scallions just before serving. Enjoy!
xox,
A
Black Bean Beauty
1 Tbs. olive oil
4 onions (yes - FOUR!) chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
2 cans chicken broth
1 1/2 cup water
2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 scallions, thinly sliced
Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat; add onions and garlic; cook, stirring, until onions are softened - about 5 minutes. Stir in beans, broth water, cumin and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool 5 minutes. Puree soup, (in batches) in a food processor or blender. It should look something like this before pureeing...
Be careful not to fill the processor too full (as I did) or messiness will quickly follow. Return pureed soup to saucepan and reheat over medium heat. Sprinkle with cilantro and scallions just before serving. Enjoy!
xox,
A
