My Favorite Black Bean Soup!

I LOVE a good black bean soup! I found a recipe awhile back that I have been tweaking and make for a lot of parties and functions I have at my house. It is always a big hit and I always get asked for the recipe. So I thought I would finally write it down in a post and share it here since I just made it the other day and have it fresh in my mind.

I like to use dry black beans for this but canned will work. Just rinse them first. We bought a ton of dry black beans from the farmers market this summer. They store well for a long time and we enjoy them all winter long. Beans are such a great and healthy source of protein and fiber! 

Recipe:

a lot of black beans! If you use dry then wash them and pick out the stone like ones. I like to cook my dry beans with a little broth, a lot of water (keep them covered in liquid) and seasonings (garlic, onion, pepper, etc) in the crock pot over night. I make a lot at one time so I can use them for different recipes. If you use canned then I would say around 4 cans!

1 large can of crushed tomatoes. Sometimes I will take fresh that I have blanched.

about 4 cups of broth (I have used veggie as well as chicken and they are both delicious)

1 TBS extra virgin olive oil 

1 onion (you can chop this but I like to grate my onion in recipes with a cheese grater to avoid chunks that my kids will pick out)

1-2  stalks of celery, finely chopped

1-2 carrots, finely chopped. you could also grate these.

garlic! I like a lot! good immune boosting properties and makes things smell and taste delicious. I like to buy fresh that is already minced in the jar. Saves me some time and I find I use it more frequently when it is so convenient.

chili powder (if you like it hot then use a lot - if not, then tone it down. )

1 TBS of ground cumin 

a dash of black pepper

a dash or two of garlic powder or garlic salt (easy on the salt as this will have a ton of flavor on its own)

Optional: 1-2 TBS of chia seeds. These are packed with nutrients, fiber and omegas. They expand in liquid to help you feel full. I usually add these to most recipes, esp. soups and smoothees!

Note: I do not like to measure things so that is why some of my instructions are vague. And also why I am terrible at baking. lol you can get away with not measuring with cooking so use your best judgement and play around with the ingredients  to make it work for your taste.

Directions:

Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Saute onion, celery and carrot until it starts to get softer but not mushy. Add garlic during last minute or two so it doesn't burn.

Stir in broth and about half of your beans. Add seasonings and bring to a boil.

Meanwhile, in a blender, blend the rest of your beans with your tomatoes until smooth. This will be your heavenly sauce mix!!

Stir into boiling soup and let simmer for at least 15 minutes. The longer you let it simmer, the better the flavors will mesh together. Make sure you cook it long enough for your veggies to not be crunchy. 

And…... enjoy!!!! You can add a dab of plain greek yogurt (healthy alternative to sour cream) to each bowl if you like. So good!!!

Do you have a  favorite soup recipe to share? I am always looking for new ideas in the kitchen. 

let me know what you think once you try this. 

Thanks and stop and visit me on Facebook soon! Would love to connect with you there and share more healthy living and recipe tips.

~Rebecca~

Is that Vitamin doing you any good?

I get asked about vitamins and supplements a lot, and especially lately after the media latched onto a study done by the pharmaceutical industry recently about supplements being a waste of money. You may have asked yourself this question too. Am I wasting my money? Does this really help my health? Can it really prevent disease? How can I find a good supplement? How do I know it is working in my body? What should I buy? Where should I start?!……

Before I get into my answers to those questions, my question to you is how is your health? How is your families health? Are you often sick? Colds come and go from one family member to the next? Chronic ear infections? Asthma? Eczema? Allergies? Arthritis? Lack of Energy? Headaches? Weight issues? Depression? Often irritable? Are you just plain old sick of being sick??…..well there IS evidence that many of these things are caused by nutritional deficiencies and CAN be prevented but sometimes food just isn't enough.

I went to an excellent Shaklee conference this past weekend in Chicago. I was really drawn to this conference because of the expert scientists who were to be speaking and I was so glad I went. Two of the main draws for me were Dr. Bruce Daggy and Dr. Stephen Chaney. Both gave excellent and informative talks about dietary supplements and the literature and "urban myths" that the media tends to highlight.

In their talks, I learned that it is so important to really look past the headline. Often they are used to draw you in and sometimes create uncertainty in the reader, but when you really read the content of the article and more importantly the content of the research they may be referring to, most of the time it doesn't really relate to the headline at all! The studies that show the benefits of supplements are not big news so you really don't hear about those. They aren't the latest thing being shared on Facebook. But there are several studies that do show how supplements can help you. So it is always important to….

Dr. Chaney shared how the United States spends more on health care then any other country; yet, we are one of the unhealthiest nations in the world!! 
I spoke with Dr. Chaney after his talk on Friday evening and shared that the topic of his talk can be heard as typical dinner conversation in my home. Some of you may know my husband, Dr. David Colby (no, I don't usually refer to him as Doctor. lol) who has a PharmD as well as a PhD in organic chemistry and is an expert in this area as well. 

David runs a research lab and also teaches at a research-intensive university. He studies natural products and makes them into pharmaceuticals. He also lectures on dietary supplements and knows a heck of a lot about this topic. I learn so much from him about this! When I asked David about this study that made headlines recently about supplements, he had a very casual kind of shoulder shrug response knowing that the media likes to hype up headlines and often what the headline reads has nothing to do with the content of the study or its findings. So to him, it was no big deal at all and he continues to take his vitamins daily just like everyone in my family and knows the benefits in doing that. :)

Dr. Chaney mentioned a number of well-done studies that did show that dietary supplements could help with some of the main health issues in America (heart disease, cancer, diabetes, stroke) and that some forms of these diseases can be prevented.

Dr. Chaney talked about how the whole is better then the sum of its parts. He mentioned this when speaking on colon cancer. Studies show that colon cancer is decreased by a lifestyle that includes: high fiber diet, low fat diet, adequate amounts of calcium intake, B vitamins, exercise and weight control. However, none of these by themselves can decrease your chance of colon cancer. But when put together, studies have shown a tremendous benefit in preventing this disease.

He also talked about an Italian study showing how supplementing with Omega 3 Fatty acids can reduce your risk of a heart attack by 40%! Statin drug studies show to reduce this risk by only 5%.

Supplementation appears to benefit high risk groups of people such as people with nutritional deficiencies due to a poor diet and people with hereditary issues. It is very difficult to show prevention of disease when looking at healthy individuals for several reasons; yet, we could look at the Landmark Nutritional Study done at the Berkley College of Public Health in 2007 as an example of people who are long term users of Shaklee supplements being healthier with lower cholesterol, heart disease, diabetes, and overall well-being then people who took no supplements to people who took another brands multivitamin. Dr. Daggy talked about this study and how the Shaklee group had no deficiency in Vitamin D - it was neither too high nor too low. The nutrition was shown in the blood samples taken. The average age of this group was 63, which is interesting because a person doesn't typically think of people in their 60s and up having optimal health and being disease-free! Dr. Daggy said this study carries a lot of weight in the industry because they looked at all of the main health issues in one study.

Dr. Daggy also mentioned a number of studies looking at the health benefits of Vitamin C in the body and how it has been shown to reduce risk of certain diseases like scurvy. 

So what brand is good? How do I know? Dr. Chaney recommends a holistic vitamin brand. One that is tested for bioavailability and is a whole-food supplement rather then synthetic. It may surprise you that the FDA does not police supplement companies. So a supplement maker does not have to put money into research to prove anything it claims on its label! The take away from this is to do your homework. Which I assume you are doing by taking the time to read this. :)

Here is a quick video demonstrating vitamins breaking down in vinegar and a simple test you can do on your own vitamins. They should completely dissolve within 30 minutes or you know they are just passing through your body so in those cases are a waste of your money!

Can we Get our Vitamins from Food alone?

Dr. Daggy talked a lot about why we should supplement. For one, our food supply has a lot of problems and is not what it was 50-100 years ago. Produce is picked before it is ripe and loses nutrition in storage. Our food supply also goes through excessive processing. We live in a fast food, fast paced world. 

And nobody these days really truly eats the optimal diet. I know I don't and we generally eat pretty healthy. Here is a picture of the optimal diet.

It is so hard to do this. And of course there are temptations all around us. So supplementing can help to fill in many of these nutritional gaps in our diets. Many diseases are preventible with proper nutrition and good quality supplements can help with this.

I help people all of the time with their health goals. Prior to taking Shaklee supplements, I was tired, overweight, had a tendency toward depressed moods and attributed it to getting older and chasing after my little boys and normal stresses of life.

I grew up with Shaklee which is the #1 natural nutrition company in the US, and as a kid was rarely sick, but I got away from Shaklee when I went to college, and looking back got sick more often during that time in my life. My husband and I decided to add Shaklee back into our life when we started a family and after he looked into the science and research of Shaklee and was blown away!  I started on Shaklee supplements a few years ago and I am so thankful for the amount of energy I have, how my entire family is rarely sick (kids have never had ear infections!) and when we are we are sick we are able to fight it off quickly. It has impacted not only my energy and immune health but the health of my skin, hair, nails, weight and that of my family too! Life is so much more enjoyable because we are functioning at optimal health.

So if you are sick and tired of being sick and tired maybe I can help. 

If you are and are considering supplements or have questions about them or where to start, let's talk about some good options for you, or contact the person who shared this post with you. Supplementation can have good health benefits when you are choosing the right one for you.

Thanks for reading and I would love to hear from you and your thoughts on this important topic! Do you find benefit of supplements in your diet?

~Rebecca~

Healthy Mac and Cheese? Yes, Please!!

I was at the grocery store yesterday and noticed this new version of pasta that just came out that has veggies in it! It was on sale so I decided to buy a couple of boxes. There are 3 different varieties. This one has pureed squash and carrots which adds some vitamins and nutrients. Not as good as eating them raw but better then not having them at all.

It got me thinking about how my oldest has been begging me to make mac and cheese for him. I remember enjoying the traditional box of mac and cheese quite often when I was a kid. But there is more info out there now to indicate this may not be a good choice for people with all of the dyes, especially kids so my kids don't get that. We also have had some issues with dairy in the past so my kids don't get a lot of dairy so this would be a treat. 

I called my husband while at the store to ask him to look into my Deceptively Delicious cook book by Jessica Seinfeld (Jerry's wife) for the Mac and Cheese recipe. There happened to be two but he read me the ingredients for the first one here. The second recipe had pureed white beans or chick peas in it. Will have to try that sometime too!

If you aren't familiar with this book, I would recommend it if you are looking for ways to sneak some healthy things into recipes. Works great for picky kids and picky spouses too! :) I posted about her healthier brownie recipe awhile back too. So good!

It didn't take me long to make this and when it was done I told my kids what I had made. My oldest was practically jumping up and down he was so excited. My youngest who is 3 firmly announced, I don't like this dinner. I told him, it's lunch, not dinner, and you haven't even tried it! lol

But he held firm and reluctantly tried one bite and confirmed what he already thought to be true. I don't like it! ha ha!

But don't let that turn you away from trying this recipe. My 5 year old ate three bowls!!! And asked if he could have it again tomorrow. If only my kids had similar tastes in food it would make my job easier. Anyone else have this problem? I also ate some and thought it tasted pretty good!

I used pureed sweet potato which did make it taste a little sweeter. Next time I will try the pureed squash or cauliflower like Jessica suggests. I cut back on the amount of cheese the recipe called for and it was still very good. I also added chia seeds, which you couldn't even tell were in there once they expanded and cooked into the sauce. I also used almond milk because that is what we have in the house.

In place of flour, I used this Instant Protein, which I love to add to baked goods. It does not lose any nutrients when heated and is an excellent choice for a plant-based quality protein.

So that's it! The end result was quite good!

What are ways you sneak some health into your kids meals?

Thanks for stopping in. If you are over on Facebook soon, stop and visit me for more healthy tips and recipes.

Have a great day!

~Rebecca~

Women's Bible Study Starts Soon - Online!!!

One of my New Year's goals is to become more God Centered and spend more time with Him. Do you have this goal too? 2013 was a big year of change for me both personally and spiritually. I have spent many years of my life looking for happiness and contentment in people, relationships, work, situations… but when I really truly dig deep into my relationship with God, EVERYthing else falls into place. Only true peace and contentment can come from Him. I have heard people say that before and although I believed it too, it took some significant events in my life this past year to really help me to clear my vision and see that I am truly at peace when I am with Him and in His word. This is effecting all areas of my life positively - my family, my marriage, my relationship with other people, my work…EVERYthing! And it has been good.

In working on my new year's goal, I am changing the focus of my blog. I will continue to do healthy living and sharing ideas here with my health and wellness business in helping others, but I also want the focus to be more God-Centered. So today I am inviting you to join me in a fantastic online Bible study!

I started doing the Good Morning Girls studies in the summer of 2012. I joined a group online of women I did not know. I was so excited to start but disappointed when the group seemed to fizzle out. I still got so much from it personally that I decided to start to lead my own small group. We started off as an email group and then went to a blog group. From there we went to a private Facebook group, which is how we are now. 

I am always amazed at how God reveals Himself to me through the daily readings and assignments and through the sharing in my group. It takes most people 5-15 minutes every week day to do. I invite you to join us in January to see what He wants to share with you too!

Please contact me if you are interested in joining us!

Blessings to you on your journey.

~Rebecca~

Natural Fabreeze

I came across a recipe for a natural fabreeze awhile back and decided to make it last night to help freshen up my boy's bathroom a bit. I clean all of our bathrooms with a safe germicide from Shaklee called Basic G. It is safe and cleans and disinfects well. But my little one's bathroom needed a bit more freshness so I made this natural fabreeze. It worked really well, smells really nice and is safe and healthy for my family, including my youngest who was born with lung disease and we have to be more careful with. And it was quite simple to make. It took me only a few minutes to put together.

Recipe:

16 oz water in a sprayer

2 tsp Shaklee's Soft Fabric Concentrate (makes your clothes smell really nice in the laundry too without the harsh chemicals!)

a pinch of baking soda

shake and spray!

That's it! It works great for pet odor too!

Thanks for stopping in. Visit me on Facebook soon!

Have a great day:)

~Rebecca~

Organize Your Life!!!

Some of you may remember the year long Organizing series I did awhile back using Jennifer Ford Berry's Organize Now book. It was really helpful to me to get things organized in my house and in my life. Now that we are getting ready to put our house on the market, I am revisiting some of these posts and thought to share with you too! 

You can scroll through all of the past posts HERE on organizing.

Is getting more organized one of your new year's resolutions? How are you planning to do it?

Thanks and join me on Facebook soon! I would love to connect with you there!

Have a great day!!

~Rebecca~

Happy New Year!!!!

Happy New Year!! New Year's is always a time to reflect and start new. Of course every day gives us the opportunity to do this but on New Year's many people like to make resolutions or goals for the year ahead. Did you?

My husband and I had fun going out to a nice dinner for New Year's Eve then after the kids went to bed enjoyed a movie (Safe Haven on Netflix - really good!), some champagne and watching the ball drop at midnight. We talked about our goals for the year and and family goals. More prayer time, Bible studies, date nights, regular blogging for me, organizing my business time better, getting back to the gym more often for my hubby and for me doing my Burst workouts and weights more regularly and losing the last 5 pounds from my pregnancy this fall, spending more quality time as a family, enjoying more and worrying less because as we saw in 2013 with many of our friends - life is too short and you never know how much time you have here so enjoy it and be grateful for it. We all have gifts and I am always working toward using those gifts to the fullest. How about you?

If weight loss is part of your new years goals then consider joining us for our Shaklee 180 Turnaround Challenge starting soon!!! Shaklee is giving $50/$100 in free products and FREE shipping for a year when you sign up for Shaklee 180 on autoship in January! This is the program that helped me to lose 2 pant sizes and several inches when I had my boys and maintain for 3 years! I love the taste, convenience and energy I get from this program too! 

You can get started on your weight loss goals HERE.

Wishing you all a happy and healthy 2014 filled with many blessings for you and yours!

Cheers!

~Rebecca~