Greatest Achievement

I believe my greatest achievement occurred last night when I served my dad a black bean burger ... and he ate it. My dad. The man who would eat cow at every meal if given the opportunity. Yeah, him. He ate a black bean burger. With mild protest, sure, but he ate it so I am chalking it up in the win column.

If you haven't tried a meatless burger yet, try these and let me know what you think. Scroll down towards the end of the page for the black bean burger recipe.

Have a great weekend!

Wee-licious

I get a lot of questions about what I feed my babies. The short answer is, anything they will eat. And, at least for my little peanut, that usually isn't much. She is famous for her hunger strikes and for chewing food but not actually digesting it. And that is probably why she's still a peanut and her brother is more of a walnut. Or a coconut.

The long answer is that when I find something healthy that they actually like I make large batches of it and freeze smaller portions so I always have something on hand when the natives get restless. For the most part you can freeze just about anything, with the exception of cooked pasta which tends to get gummy when thawed. So, I make whole wheat pancakes, french toast and various "chunky" purees and stock my freezer each week. That way I have all the convenience of packaged foods with none of the preservatives, chemicals or processing.

Two of the twins' current favorites are Banana French Toast and Black Bean Banana Quinoa.

For the French toast, I combine organic eggs, soy milk, cinnamon, agave nectar or honey and a ripe banana in a blender. Then I soak 100% whole wheat or spelt bread in the mixture and grill it until golden-brown. I literally make this by the loaf and then cut it into sticks that I freeze in twin-sized portions. It makes a great on-the-go snack for the babies that is both nutritious and minimally messy, my only two criteria for snacks. This is also the only thing that I can get Abby to eat on certain days so it's critical to keep the freezer stocked.

Black Bean Banana Quinoa is another big crowd-pleaser. I know it sounds kind of gross but the babies LOVE it. And it couldn't be easier. In a food processor, or blender, combine a ripe banana, 1 can of black beans (rinsed and drained), a cup of cooked quinoa and a drizzle of agave nectar or honey. Quinoa is crazy nutritious and is a complete protein that contains all 8 essential amino acids. Black beans are no slouch either thanks to their high fiber and protein content and anti-oxidant rich properties. It's so stinking nutritious that I turn a blind eye to the fact that, without fail, Abby massages little fist fulls of it into her hair each time I serve it.

Black beans, or any beans really, make great "finger food" for babies and toddlers so don't be afraid to experiment. You might be surprised by what your little one will enjoy.

And, when you have a chance, check out Weelicious which is a great resource for baby and kid-friendly recipes.

Two Tasty Treats to Try

These are the last two recipes featuring black beans. They are the last recipes for two equally important reasons: 1) I ran out of ideas and, 2) Eric is responding to the week of bean recipes in a very odoriferous way, if you know what I mean. He keeps blaming the gas on our dog, Berkley, but I'm on to his little ruse.


Black Bean Salsa Chili
Inspired by Cooking Light, made even healthier by Mel



Ingredients:
2 (15-ounce) cans black beans, rinsed & drained
2/3 cup water
1 teaspoon Agave nectar
8 ounce Tempeh
1 cup chopped sweet onion
½ cup chopped yellow bell pepper
½ cup chopped red bell pepper
1 ½ TBLS chili powder
1 TBLS ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 (14-ounce) can vegetable broth
1 ½ cups fresh salsa—medium
3 TBLS tomato paste
¼ cup fresh chopped cilantro
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice

Directions:
Combine 1 ½ cup beans, 2/3 cup water & agave nectar in food processor & blend until smooth. Add remaining black beans & set aside. (Do not blend remaining beans).

Heat a large sauce pan over medium heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Crumble tempeh and cook until browned, about 5 minutes. Add onions and bell peppers & cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add spices, tomato paste, bean mixture, vegetable broth & salsa. Bring to a boil & then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from heat. Add lime juice & stir. Garnish with cilantro.

Taster notes
I LOVE LOVE LOVE this chili and think it is particularly divine served over a baked sweet potato, as does Mel. My meat-loving husband, Eric, was completely fooled by the tempeh and thought it was ground turkey (please do not inform him otherwise or it may put a screeching hault to my healthy recipe testing); he prefered his chili plain with some blue corn chips or served over a regular baked potato. All of the Simons gave this recipe their Super Simon stamp of approval.

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World's Easiest Black Bean Burgers



Ingredients:
1/2 onion, diced
1 can black beans, well drained
1/2 cup flour
2 slices whole wheat bread, crumbled
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp seasoned salt
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Sautee the onions in a little bit of olive oil until soft, about 3-5 minutes.
In a large bowl, mash the beans until almost smooth; you can also use a food processor but I would "pulse" the mixture so it doesn't completely puree. Add sauteed onions and the rest of the ingredients to combine, adding the flour a few tablespoons at a time. Mixture will be thick.

Form bean mixture into patties, approximately ½ inch thick and cook patties in a small amount of oil until slightly firm. Please note that you can use a "grill pan" but they are not sturdy enough to stand up to an actual grill. Serve and enjoy.

Taster notes
We dressed these burgers up in the traditional way with lettuce, tomato and katsup and served them on a whole wheat bun. Eric had a small issue with the consistency (they are not as firm as a meat burger) but he really enjoyed the flavor. He gave me the thumbs up to make them again. I think chilling the patties in the refrigerator for 30 minutes prior to cooking might help with the consistency.

Jackson, age 6, was so smitten with these burgers that he just ate his plain, with his bare hands before Mel could even get them to the table. Harrison, 3, dipped his "burger" into some hummus and Harper, 4, declined to try this recipe.

I toasted the leftovers until warm (use a toaster oven or broil them as the microwave will make them too soggy), and served them with a mound of fresh salsa and slices of avacado for lunch the next day. Yum.

Remember, not only are beans healthy, but they are also extra easy on the budget. Have fun experimenting with these nutritious recipes and go ahead and pat yourself on the back for trying some healthy new meals this weekend.

Let me know what you think!

Bon appetite!

Where do we go from here?

In an attempt to better understand everyone I have spent the weekend reading, and re-reading, all of your comments and emails about your goals, frustrations and desires for better health. So far, the most common themes seem to be the following:

1. How to incorporate fast, easy and healthy recipes into your diets.
2. How to use food to promote good health and to help prevent or reverse disease.
3. How to fit in exercise for busy moms, working moms, and just overcommitted, busy people in general.
4. How to maintain good health during pregnancy and how to reclaim your body after pregnancy.
5. How to find the motivation to exercise and eat right when you are already stressed and overwhelmed and overcommitted.
6. How to lose weight without extreme and unhealthy diets and countless hours in the gym, as well as how to maintain a healthy weight while remaining emotionally calm and balanced.
7. How to bolster self-esteem, improve body-image and set a good example for our children.
8. How to kick unhealthy cravings, make better food choices and teach our children to do the same.

We are going to tackle all of this and more.

I have also had some interest in starting a book club to better understand and cope with emotional and compulsive overeating. If you are interested in this topic and haven’t emailed me yet, please do so. I hope to kick the book club off next week. We will select a new book each month or two to read and discuss.

For starters though, I thought we would look at how to include easy, delicious recipes into our diets that also promote good health. We are going to look at a few “super foods” over the next few weeks that are nutritional powerhouses. We will also try a few simple recipes for each super food and share our successes, or humorous blunders, with each attempt.

Remember, the more nutrient-dense, healthy foods we can include in our diets the better chance we have at staying healthy at the cellular level so our bodies can actually fight disease. Of course, I understand that food has to taste good too and be easy to make, so the idea here is simply this: super tasty "super foods," made super easy.

On Wednesday I will introduce you to the Full At Last Taste Test Team. Our team ranges in ages from temperamental 1-year old twins to a pork-fat loving 40-year old man. There are three finicky children (ages, 3, 4, and 6) a maniacal, health-obsessed tri-athlete, two stay-at-home moms and a 13-year old mutt that round out the team. Each recipe passes the lips, or attempts to, of the entire team and receives reviews from each. My hope is that this will lend credit to each recipe and help you decide whether or not it is something worth trying in your home. Please try these recipes on your own and comment with your thoughts so we can all benefit. We are in this together so your feedback is critical to our collective success.

And, without further ado … our first “super food” is … black beans!

Black beans are a fiber all-star, as are most legumes, and help lower blood cholesterol and stabilize blood sugar while providing a good source of protein and a healthy shot of anti-oxidants.

I typically make a double-batch of this black-bean hummus each week and use it for snacking (I love dipping baby carrots and raw bell peppers into it) as well as for the base of a super fast lunch (veggie wraps). When I run out of dinner options, I like to make a “Mexican pizza” with the remaining hummus and whatever vegetables I have on hand.

We will start with the hummus as it is the base for all three recipes.

Black Bean Hummus



Ingredients:
1 garlic clove, peeled
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon tahini (roasted sesame seed paste)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 small jalapeño pepper, chopped (about 2 tablespoons)
Dash of crushed red pepper
1-2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
Dash of ground red pepper


Directions:
Place garlic in a food processor; process until finely chopped. Add lemon juice, tahini, cumin, salt, black beans, jalapeño pepper, and crushed red pepper; process until smooth.

Spoon bean mixture into a medium bowl, and drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil. Sprinkle with ground red pepper. (note: I often skip this step and it still tastes fantastic)

Serve with homemade whole wheat pita chips, blue corn tortilla chips (I like organic Garden of Eatin’ blue corn chips) and/or your favorite raw veggies.

Note: you can also buy fresh chopped garlic in a jar for a time-saver.

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Vegetable Black Bean Hummus Wrap

Spread hummus on a 100% whole wheat tortilla. Fill tortilla with sliced bell peppers (high in vitamin C), cucumbers, sprouts (superb source of nutrients and contain concentrated amounts of phytochemicals that can protect against disease), lettuce and/or your favorite vegetables. Roll it up and enjoy.

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Mexican Pizza




Ingredients:
Tortillas
Black Bean Hummus
Shredded romaine lettuce
Black beans
Corn
Grape tomatoes, halved or chopped
Green chilies, chopped
Green onions, diced
Cilantro, chopped
Jalapeno, diced
Lime & Avocado for garnish


Directions:
Heat tortilla in a pan until crispy.

Spread black bean hummus on tortillas.

Combine black beans, corn, tomatoes, green chilies, green onions, cilantro & jalapeno in a bowl and then spread the corn mixture on the pizza.

Spread romaine over the top. Garnish with diced avocado & lime.