Why beans?
As mentioned in my previous post about beans , Dr. Servan-Schreiber states: “The anticancer diet is principally composed of vegetables (and legumes) accompanied by olive (or canola or flaxseed) oil or organic butter [by organic butter I think he means organic butter from grass-fed cows, which should have much less saturated fat than regular butter], garlic, herbs, and spices. Meat and eggs are optional. They don’t represent the main ingredients of the plate.” (Anti Cancer, page 119)
You may be someone who would like to cook a pot of legumes (beans and split peas) from scratch but somehow you never get around to it. I must admit, as much as I love to cook, I hardly ever cook beans from scratch. The last time I attempted this process, I soaked and drained the beans and then got sidetracked. When I was ready to cook the beans that had been set aside on my kitchen counter, they had already sprouted!
So for now, anyway, I would rather purchase the Whole Foods’ Smoky Adobo Black Bean Soup – found on the salad bar island at my Whole Foods store — than make my own Black Bean Soup from scratch.
BLACK BEAN SOUP & STEW (the easy way!)
Ingredients
Whole Foods’ Smoky Adobo Black Bean Soup
- 100% vegetarian
- Low in fat (2.5 grams per 1 cup serving),
- No saturated fat (0 grams per 1 cup serving)
- Lots of fiber (8 grams per 1 cup serving),
- A fair amount of sodium (680 mg per 1 cup serving) — but less if you dilute this thick soup as explained below
Directions
Here are some of the many wonderful ways you can customize Whole Foods’ Smoky Adobo Black Bean Soup and make it even more interesting and delicious:
- Add a few Tomato & Onion Chutney Flavor Cubes. This gives the soup more nutrition (more veggies plus turmeric and black pepper) and also reduces the sodium per serving.
- If the soup is very thick (as it often is when there’s not much left in the hot soup container from which you ladle your soup), just add a little water to yoursoup before serving. And then top each serving with chopped fresh cilantro.
- Or instead of thinning the soup with water, add a few Zesty Citrus Flavor Cubes – just enough to add a hint of orange and not so much as to make the soup sweet. The lively orange flavor and touch of sweetness tones down the heat (spiciness) and also thins the consistency. I thought this combination was outstanding, especially when topped with chopped fresh cilantro.
- Serve this thick soup (like a stew) over any cooked grain or some quinoa and then top it with diced avocado and tomatoes.
- Puree this soup in a blender if you want a smooth texture. Or puree some of this soup and mix it with the rest of the soup for a variety of textures.
To freeze for use later:
- I like to freeze small portions of this soup in a regular-size (not mini size) silicon muffin pan. When frozen, just pop the frozen soup “muffins” out and place them into a plastic bag ( the kind for the freezer). Now you have small portions you can use anytime you want a little black bean soup or stew.
- When this soup goes on sale at Whole Foods, you can stock up and sock it away in your freezer. Just remember it’s there!
I hope you enjoy this soup as much as we do at my house.
P.S. I have no interest or relationship with Whole Foods; I just like their soup.
Enjoy and be healthy!
Leni
