Healthier Eating

Everyone seems to start the new year with a desire to eat healthier, lose weight, and be generally more health conscious. I was reading an article in the Reader's Digest about a man who started eating only vegan until 6 pm. Then he ate meat or fish with his meal. He lost quite a bit of weight. He eats only grains, veggies, fruit and nuts before 6 pm. He then eats fish and meat and pasta with salads, cheese, bread or whatever. I thought I'd try this with DAd and see if he can lose weight. I am still eating smaller meals, but doing the vegan thing too. I think the "eat meat sparingly" is a smart thing to do anyway. So in this effort to eat a little healthier, I found a great soup recipe and tried it yesterday. It was soooo delicious! It was Black Bean Soup--with the recipe being on the back of the can of Progresso Black Beans. I also made Janessa's butternut squash soup. It is another delicious recipe. You'll have to ask her for it because I don't have the exact proportions. I made it by just throwing in the things I know go into it. No exact measurement. So, here is the recipe for the back bean soup and another for my special brown rice. Here's to eating healthy!!!

Black Bean Soup

1 T olive oil
1 large onion chopped
1 medium stalk celery, chopped (1/2 cup)
2 carrots, chopped (1 cup)
4 cloves garlic, chopped (1 T)
1 or 2 T chili powder (I added only 1 and it was good)
1 T ground cumin
¼ tsp pepper
3 cans (14 oz) chicken broth
4 cans (15 oz.) black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (15 oz) whole kernel corn, drained
2 cups mild picante or salsa

In a 4 quart saucepan or dutch oven, heat oil over medium high heat. Cook onion, celery, carrots and garlic in oil 5 min., stirring occasionally. Add chili powder, cumin, pepper, cook 1 min. Stir in broth, 2 cans of beans and the corn. Heat to boiling stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, place remaining 2 cans of beans and the salsa in a blender or food processor. Cover and blend until smooth. Stir this mixture into the boiling soup. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 15 minutes. Serve with some chopped cilantro on top and chopped tomatoes. You could also add a little sour cream.

Fofa's Special Brown Rice

In a rice cooker, put in 3 or 4 scoops of brown rice (The container your rice cooker came with is about 3/4 cup). Fill to line 4 if using 3 scoops or line 5 if using 4 scoops. Add about a T of chicken base or 3 cubes of bouillon. Add about a tsp. of salt--more or less to your liking. Start rice cooker. When cooker starts to boil the rice, open the lid and stir so that the bouillon will mix in well. While the rice is cooking, chop an onion and saute in a T of olive oil over medium heat. Add about 1/4 to 1/2 lb. fresh mushrooms or a can of cut mushrooms and saute with onion. Throw in a handful of pine nuts. Continue to stir and saute until onion is cooked. When the rice is done, stir in the mushrooms and onion mixture. Keep warm until you serve it. This is a great way to serve rice when you have company and want something nicer than just plain rice. And everyone loves it, trust me! It also can be reheated later for another meal. Just keep it in a plastic container in the fridge.