As I continue my journey into lifestyle change with cooking up and creating new recipes. I have learned to eat foods that contain colors. Not artificial colors. But real color. Fruits, vegetables and beans make up the healthy foods that contain color. Eating an array of colorful foods just ensures that you get the benefits of all of them, especially the fiber and nutrients. Two years into this journey, I have learned that it is not only beneficial to my body to eat foods that contain color but to make it as less boring to do so as possible.
My easy-to-make Vegetarian Chili Bean Soup is not only heart healthy and contains the fiber your body needs in one serving; it’s also very, very colorful, yummy and takes about 15-20 minutes to make!
Here’s what you’ll need:
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 cup of cherry tomato (sliced).
- 1/2 cup of red bell pepper (chopped)
- 1 cup chopped red onion (You can use white onion, I prefer red for more flavor.)
- 1/2 cup of chopped green beans. (Please make sure they are fresh or frozen.)
- 2 garlic cloves thinly sliced
- 1/2 thinly sliced green pepper
- 2 teaspoons of ground tumeric
- 2 teaspoons of chili powder
- 2 teaspoons of oregano or parsley (which ever you prefer)
- 2 cups of Hunts Fire-Roasted or Diced Tomatoes (undrained)
- 1/2 cup of fresh cut or frozen corn
- 1 cup of vegetable broth
- 1 (15-ounce) can of red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 (15-ounce) can of black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1/4 teaspoons of salt
- 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon of onion powder
Since I’m obsessed with color so I kind of spread everything out in a large pan to look like the photo I took above and then stir to mix, cover and let simmer.
But if you prefer to separate and cook and tenderize your vegetables first then you can follow the two steps below.
- Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Saute red onions, cherry tomatoes, and garlic until tender. Stir in green pepper, red pepper, green beans, and chili powder. Cook until vegetables are tender, about 6 minutes.
- Stir in Hunts Fire-Roasted or Diced Tomatoes, vegetable broth, and cook 4 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, kidney beans, black beans, salt, pepper, onion powder, corn, cumin, and oregano. Bring to a boil, and reduce heat to medium. Cover, and simmer for 11 minutes, stirring occasionalIy until tender to your taste.
Makes about 6 servings.
