PLANT-BASED CHALLENGE, DINNER #7

The Plant-Based Challenge comes to a close with a hearty soup.  Our goal has been to create a delicious, healthful, satisfying dinner for 2 each day of the week following these simple guidelines for whole food plant-based cooking and eating:

• Include vegetables, fruits, beans and whole grains every day
• Include greens everywhere possible (soups, salads, sauces, sandwiches, etc.)
• Include starches in every meal (potatoes, oatmeal, brown rice, whole grain pasta, etc.)
• Minimize salt
• Avoid all added oil (no olive, coconut, canola, corn, peanut, etc.)
• Avoid all animal products (no meat, dairy, cheese, fish, poultry, etc.)
• Use nuts and seeds sparingly with the exception of chia and freshly ground flax seeds.
• Use fruit for dessert and as a whole food sweetener instead of sugar.

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Dinner is served--Butter Bean Soup with Baba Ghannuj on whole grain Crostinis

RECIPES

• Butter Bean Soup

1 cup each finely chopped celery, carrots, onion  

3 tbls. Whole wheat flour

4 cups water

2 (16 oz) cans Butter Beans drained (no butter, just rich buttery flavor)

1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes

1-2 cups chopped dark leafy greens (I used kale from the garden)

1 tbls red wine vinegar

1 tbls Bragg’s Aminos (soy sauce alternative)

1 tsp. basil

1 tsp. turmeric

Dry saute chopped veggies until soft (add small amounts of liquid as needed).  Add flour, cook and stir for 1 minute. Add water slowly stirring til smooth.  Add remaining ingredients; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to simmer for 20 minutes.  Season with salt & pepper to taste.

• Baba Ghannuj (eggplant spread)

1 each whole eggplant, garlic clove, juice of 1 lemon, 1 tbls. Tahini or sesame seeds, 1 sweet potato

Pierce and roast whole eggplant and sweet potato at 400 for 1 hr.

Scoop out soft inside of eggplant and blend with other ingredients adding only enough sweet potato to thicken and make mixture spreadable.

Garnish with basil chiffonade (roll basil leaves into cigar shape and slice with sharp knife into thin strips).