You probably know the feeling of wishing for the winter in the middle of summer and vice-versa, and it’s only recently that I discovered its roots. Being more present, participating mindfully, and embracing everything that goes on in your life are simple mind switches that will make us actually enjoy our reality.
For me, summer means traveling, hiking, eating tons of blackberries and drinking cooling fresh juices during the long afternoons, and I know I didn’t have enough of these, nor was I present while they were happening, since I found myself wishing for them in January.
As for the winter, I know that going to the mountains when snowing, baking loaves of bread, and making a lot of stews will make me feel like I take and live the most of it, and I’ll not end up wishing for winter in July.
This stew is a simple way to stay present, because it doesn’t involve too many steps, and its rich taste and flavors are really rewarding. I love cooking with beans because of their high load of protein, carbs, and fiber which make the perfect healthy combination for a vegetarian.
Add eggs and avocado to the picture and you’ll get a filling combo rich with nutrients to nourish your hair, skin, and good bacteria colonies.
Focusing on eating lots of vegetables is great for a healthy diet, but as a vegetarian, you also need to aim on getting enough proteins to support cell regeneration. With 30 percent of the daily reference intake, beans are definitely a go-to ingredient in my diet.
While white canellini beans are my favorite for salads, black beans are a great choice for stews because of their deep purple color and exceptional antioxidant phytonutrients.
Three anthocyanins are responsible for the black color of these beans, and they all come with great benefits for the health of the cardiovascular system, healthy liver activity, and reducing the oxidative stress while also having anti-inflammatory action on our body’s cells.
By increasing the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory action in our body, black beans protect us from chronic disease, while their rich fiber content supports the health of the colon wall’s cells and better activity of the digestive system.
This stew quickly became a favorite in our house. The creamy yolks are a delicious addition and an extra kick of protein and minerals. I serve it with avocado and spiced yogurt for added creaminess spiciness and a nice color splash.
Looking for more ways to incorporate beans into your diet? Try my Instant Pot 15 Beans Soup or my 20 minutes Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili. Or, for variety, you can use Lupini Beans instead of black beans for this recipe, they have an interesting taste and are suited for weight loss.
If you make any of these recipes don’t forget to tag me on Instagram @theawesomegreen so I can see them and share with the community!
Protein Packed Black Bean Stew
Ingredients
- 3 cups cooked black beans
- 1 yellow onion finely diced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 cup low sodium vegetable stock
- 1 green bell pepper finely diced
- 1 small jalapeno diced
- 1 celery stalk diced
- 1 lime juice only
- 1 small bunch fresh mint chopped
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 cup yellow cherry tomatoes diced
- 2 tsp coconut oil
- Freshly ground black pepper
- To serve:
- 1 avocado peeled and sliced
- 1 organic egg from free range chickens boiled for 4 minutes
- 2 scallions diced
- 1 small red onion diced
- 2 tbsp organic yogurt mixed with 1/2 tsp cayenne
Instructions
- Heat the coconut oil into a medium pot, add the onion, green bell pepper, celery stalk, jalapeno and cook for five minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add the cherry tomatoes and cook for five more minutes.
- Add the cooked black beans, vegetable stock and cumin, mix to combine and bring to boil over medium heat.
- Simmer for ten minutes, then add the lime juice, fresh mint, ground black pepper and garlic, stir to incorporate and turn off the heat.
- Mash a few black beans with a fork, and mix to incorporate (this step will thicken the stew).
- Divide into serving bowls, and serve warm with boiled egg halves, avocado slices, red onion and diced scallions.
Notes
Whoa, this looks so tasty & healthy & colorful! So perfect for winter 🙂
Thank you Gabi! Love its colors too 🙂
This stew looks so amazing, Ana! And you photographed it so beautifully, as always <3
You are always so sweet Sarah, thank you so much! <3
i love anything black bean!! for sure have to make this stew – i LOVE how vibrant all the colours are. Xx
I love the colors of the garnishing ingredients too – as much as I like black beans, they make such a dull color in a stew! Thanks for visiting, my dear friend! Xx
So beautiful and so healthy and delicious – I could happily live on this!
Definitely, me too, it has mostly all the foods I love most! Thanks so much Mary 🙂
I love these recipes! Thanks Ana. you are a genius. The photos are great and really motivating to get stuck in to healthy eating. 🙂 Glad to have stumbled across your page. Abbie (Surrey Reiki Classes on FB).
Thank you so much Abbie! Motivating at least a person to make a step towards a healthier diet is the purpose of all my work over here!
Great recipe! So excited to try it. May I ask, who makes the bowl?! It is so beautiful!
Oh, would love to hear your feedback! The bowl is from a small store in Stockholm, and it’s a Broste Copenhagen design.
This was so yummy and filling, perfect for a cold, wintry day. I was slightly concerned I hadn’t followed the recipe correctly as at first it didn’t look as pretty as your bowl, but then I added the garnishes and ta-da, pretty as a picture.
I’ve also made your quinoa bowl, also delicious. And the photography and layout of your blog is really appealing. I found your site via bloglovin’ and I’m glad I clicked through..
Awwww, thank you so much! I’m so excited you found inspiration in my work 🙂 Thanks for following me on bloglovin!
Do you think this would freeze well (w/o garnishes of course)?
I’ve never tried freezing it, because I like to cook in small batch and eat all at once – re-heating is so much damaging the nutrients!
I just made this for my husband and I and, oh my gosh, it’s so tasty!!
Yay, that’s so great to read that! Happy you love my recipe, is a favorite of mine too 🙂
My daughter sent this recipe to me and oh, my gosh, it was absolutely deeeelicious!! It was super easy and the flavors were wonderful! A perfect, perfect recipe and I will certainly be making this again and again! Thank you 🙂
That’s so lovely to read this! I am happy your daughter made you an addict of the recipe 😉 Thank you for your feedback!
This would be great with a hammock or pigtail for flavor.