A huge salad with protein

AWESOME! Ladies!!

Thanks for the spice and chili links and ideas...I am so looking forward to trying some of them!!

Angie says it isn't chili weather here yet, 76 degrees outside this afternoon...but for me, chili weather is ANY weather! May just make a batch for me.

Went for Mexican food last night and I was all veggie...my "last supper" meal pick of cheese enchiladas, rice and beans at our favorite mom/pop Mexican joint.

Last week Angie made the following recipe from The Chopra Center Cookbook we received recently....very good



Cuban Black Bean and Sweet Potato Soup

1 cup black beans, sorted, rinsed, and soaked overnight in water
2 bay leaves
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 cup leeks or onions, diced
1 cup celery, diced
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. black pepper
1 cup carrots, diced
1 large sweet potato, peeled, cut into ˝-inch cubes
2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. oregano
1 pinch red pepper flakes
1 cup diced tomatoes (from a can is fine)
4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
2 cups torn kale
˝ cup cilantro, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Drain and rinse the soaked beans and place in a large pot. Cover with water by several inches, add the bay leaves, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until soft (about 1 hour for my beans). Reserve 1 cup of bean stock, then drain off the rest and set beans aside, discarding bay leaves.

In the same pot, heat the oil. Add the leeks, celery, soy sauce, and pepper, and simmer for about 3 minutes. Add the carrots, sweet potato, cumin, cinnamon, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Sauté for 5 minutes, letting mixture brown slightly. Add the beans and the tomatoes. Simmer a few more minutes, and then add the stock and reserved bean cooking liquid. Add water if the liquid doesn’t cover the contents of the pot. Simmer the soup until the sweet potatoes are soft. Add the greens and stir to wilt in the hot soup. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with cilantro just before serving.

Take sliced tofu, press out the moisture, lightly breadcrumb and sear in a pan w/ just a bit of oil or non-stick spray. Then put in oven to brown with tomato or pasta sauce on top and a sprinkle of low fat or grated cheese, some sprinkled oregano, and some sprinkled basil (garlic powder is also great here). It's amazing! Serve with either more veggies or a bit of pasta.

Sweet potato soup ~ penne pasta with fresh pesto ~ salad

Doc was happy with my lower meat dinners but still wants more carbs out of my system...

man oh man

That Cuban Black Bean Sweet Potato Soup sounds wonderful. Your doc doesn't want you to eat that? Come on! Those are supposed to be the healthy carbs. Let me guess, you are supposed to go on that "air" diet?