In today’s (Monday, February 24) Daily Cricket, we shared this article about “new” healthy food substitutions.  One of my favorite food substitution discoveries in recent months was plain yogurt (specifically, plain, Greek yogurt) in place of ANY recipe calling for sour cream.  Not only is Greek yogurt healthier with fewer calories, I’ve come to LOVE the taste.  It’s tangier than sour cream which adds a lot to the recipes I’ve tried.  Here is the very first recipe I had that actually called for Greek yogurt in place of sour cream.  I am giving you both the original recipe and my personal one.   ENJOY!

[fancyheading textcolor=”#dbdb37″ heading=”h4″ align=”textleft”]Black Bean Soup[/fancyheading]
*Original Recipe

Prep: 25 min
Cook: 45 min
Serves: 6
Cost per serving: $2.06
Per serving: 302 Cal., 5 g Fat (1 g Sat.), 0 mg  Chol., 16 g Fiber, 19 g Pro., 55 g Carb, 1,052 mg Sod. (faint!  we can reduce the sodium though)

Ingredients:

[one_half]

• 1 1/2 Tbsp. canola oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium red bell pepper,
  seeded & diced
• 4 carrots, diced (about 1 cup)
• 3 ribs celery, thinly sliced[/one_half] [one_half_last]
• 1 Tbsp. chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. cumin
• 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 4 15-oz. cans black beans,
  drained & rinsed
• Salt & Pepper
• 6 Tbsp. low-fat Greek yogurt
• 2 Tbsp. chopped cilantro[/one_half_last]

[dropcap1 color=”pomegranate”]1. [/dropcap1] Warm oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.  Add onion, garlic, bell pepper, carrots and celery; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 12 minutes.  Add chili powder and cumin.  Saute for about 3 minutes.

[dropcap1 color=”pomegranate”]2. [/dropcap1] Stir in broth and beans then bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low and simmer for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Remove 2 cups of soup and puree in a blender.  Stir pureed soup back into pot and cook 5 minutes longer.  Season with salt and pepper.

[dropcap1 color=”pomegranate”]3. [/dropcap1] Spoon soup into bowls, top with yogurt and cilantro and serve!

[fancyheading textcolor=”#dbdb37″ heading=”h5″ align=”textleft”]Steph’s Changes[/fancyheading]

I always make the recipe as it calls for one time and then adjust it for my family’s tastes & desires.  While this recipe is great, it does have some problem points, notably for me, the sodium AND the multi-pot issue (I do not like to get my food processor AND my big pot dirty in the same recipe because who has to clean mostly, me… no multi-pot!)

These are my adjustments to this recipe:

• More carrots & celery!  (usually about 6 carrots and 6 ribs)
• We add lean pork loin cut into cubes because my husband REQUIRES meat in this meal, but I think it tastes fine without it and is also still filling on its own.
• 4 cups of low-sodium chicken broth instead 6 (makes it thicker)
• Bag of Black beans instead of canned… in same pot you are going to cook, you soak the beans in hot water until they are soft then drain.  Or… buy low-sodium cans of black beans.
• I do not transfer soup to my blender.  I simply use a bean masher and go to town until the soup is the consistency I want.

*Recipe originally appeared in All You magazine.