Black Bean Soup

Black beans are packed with fiber and protein and will keep you feeling full for hours. They help to regulate your body's glucose level throughout the day, which means your metabolism will be chugging away at top speed, burning through any extra calories you've taken on so that you can stay slim and trim. (Taken from Yahoo! Health)

Black beans are one of the highest in flavonoids of all the beans. Research shows that flavonoids may thwart the storage of excess tummy fat. Black beans aid in benefiting your digestive tract, blood sugar regulation, cancer prevention, and cardiovascular and nervous system health.

This is a simple soup recipe. You can buy dried black beans and soak them overnight or use canned beans for a quick and dirty substitution.

To soak:
Place your black beans in a pot along with enough water to cover them and stand about two inches over the top of the beans. Let the beans sit for at least eight hours before cooking. Or, for a quick soak, bring beans to a boil for two minutes, remove from heat and let them sit for two hours before cooking.

Black Bean Soup

2 tsp olive oil
Half of a small onion
1 garlic clove
2 15 oz cans black beans – drained and rinsed
1  - 1 1/2 c chicken stock
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
Dash of paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp lime juice

Garnish:
1/2 tbsp Greek yogurt
1 tsp lime juice
Scallions

Heat olive oil in a medium sized pot and cook onion until translucent. Add garlic and cook for a minute longer. Remove from heat. Add 1 can of rinsed black beans to the pot, along with seasonings and lemon juice. Combine.

Place the other half of rinsed black beans in a blender with the chicken stock. Blend until smooth. Pour blended soup into pot and heat over medium heat. Add additional salt and pepper, if needed.

In a small bowl, combine Greek yogurt and lime juice until smooth and swirl over the soup; garnish with scallions.

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