13 Bean Soup & day 2 Of Healthy Eating :)

Day 2 of eating yummy & healthy food :) This 13 Bean Soup Mix is absolutely delicious and packed with all heart healthy and nutritious ingredients.

Serving size 1/2 cup(104 g)
Total Fat per serving is -1 g
Dietary fibre- 15 g
Protein-18 g

I was thrilled to find my magic food, relish it and stay healthy and loose some weight ;) It is a myth that eating healthy is compromising on taste,I think if we choose the ingredients smartly we do not have to compromise on the taste. For instance this soup for lunch was so hearty  and had so much to offer in terms of flavors. The 13 assortment of beans after being pressure cooked had such a unique and creamy texture and the tomato's,onions & garlic seasoned with cayenne and basil made this soup a hands down winner for me.

I had saved some home made chicken stock from previous cooking and I used that to pressure cook the beans. Manasi does not like the edges of the bread,so I  normally cut the sides  for her and save those for later use. I pulled those out from the fridge and took a wide mouthed bowl and added 1 tsp of olive oil to it along with Penzeys Greek seasoning and then gave the bread sides a good shake in the bowl & then put them in the oven on toast mode and tasted them for 10 minutes on 300 degrees f. They were super crunchy with just a hint of oil and the magical Penzey's Greek seasoning gave them the extra edge which went so well with the soup.

Preparation Time: Overnight soaking of beans
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients:
13 beans mix: 2 cups
Chicken stock or vegetable stock or plain water to pressure cook
salt: to taste
Turmeric: 1/8 tsp
 Ginger Juice: 2 tbsp ( I pound the ginger and extract the fresh juice)
Tomato's: 2 medium sized
Onions: 1 medium thinly sliced
Cayenne pepper: 1 tsp
basil: dry a tiny bit
Garlic: 3 cloves chopped
Dash of lime
Olive oil: 1 tbsp

Method:
Take the overnight soaked beans and pressure cook them with salt and turmeric till the beans are soft and can be mashed between the forefinger and thumb.

Take a pan and heat 1 tbsp oil in it. Now add the sliced onions and saute them for 3 -4 minutes add the chopped garlic. Add the sliced tomato's to this and cook till it looks like a well blended puree. Now add the cayenne and dry basil and the ginger juice.

By now the pressure would have released from the cooker,take the lid off and check the beans,give them a good stir and see if it has enough water. If not add some water depending on how thick you want the soup consistency to be. I like my soup to be fairly thick. Now add the cooked tomato's and onion to the soup and let it cook for some time on low flame. Enjoy it with a dash of lime and some toasted bread,this is a good hearty soup at its finest and the different colors are so appetizing :)

Note: The different beans in this packet are navy, black, red, pinto, baby Lima's, large Lima's, garbanzo, red lentils, great northern, kidney beans, black-eyed peas, yellow splits, green splits, and lentils .

Cayenne Pepper Health Benefits: Cayenne today is used world wide to treat a variety of health conditions including poor circulation,weak digestion, sore throats,chronic pains,headaches & tooth aches. This is the most powerful herb and in Dr Richard Schulze the medical herbalist's words,"If you master only one herb in your life,master cayenne pepper.It is more powerful than any other".