Black Bean Soup

The base of a delicious, potentially vegetarian black bean soup! This is a simple stove top recipe that is chop full of yummy natural goodness. There is a good bit of chopping involved, as you can see above, so set aside some time for this if you need to.

BLACK BEAN SOUP
Serves: 4
1 large onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 carrots, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced, or 4 Tbs minced garlic
1 Tbs chili powder
2 Tbs onion powder
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp red pepper
1 bay leaf, remove at end of cooking!
1 tsp sea salt
2 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
4 cups low sodium chicken broth (you can use vegetable broth to make it vegetarian)
2 cans no salt added black beans, drained and rinsed (this amount makes the black beans mix in with the vegetables, but if you want the black beans to be the main ingredient or really stand out, add 3 cans)
fresh cilantro

1. Heat 1 Tbs coconut oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add all vegetables, onion through carrots. Cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Add garlic, stir and cook 1 minute. Add all spices through black pepper, stir and cook 1 minute.
3. Add broth, bring to a simmer and cook 10 minutes.
3. Add beans, cook 10 minutes.
Serve topped with fresh chopped cilantro.