Black Bean (w/ Ham) Soup
Black Bean (w/ Ham) Soup

Hey everyone, it’s me, Dave, welcome to our recipe page. Today, we’re going to make a special dish, black bean (w/ ham) soup. It is one of my favorites food recipes. For mine, I am going to make it a little bit tasty. This is gonna smell and look delicious.

Black Bean (w/ Ham) Soup is one of the most favored of current trending meals on earth. It is enjoyed by millions daily. It’s simple, it is fast, it tastes delicious. They are nice and they look fantastic. Black Bean (w/ Ham) Soup is something that I’ve loved my entire life.

To begin with this recipe, we have to prepare a few ingredients. You can cook black bean (w/ ham) soup using 16 ingredients and 9 steps. Here is how you can achieve that.

The ingredients needed to make Black Bean (w/ Ham) Soup:
  1. Prepare 1 lb. dried black beans
  2. Get 3 tbs. olive or vegetable oil
  3. Prepare 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
  4. Get 1 green bell pepper, chopped
  5. Take 2 garlic cloves, minced
  6. Get 3 tbs. tomato paste
  7. Prepare 1 smoked ham hock
  8. Take 7 cups vegetable stock
  9. Make ready 1 bay leaf
  10. Make ready 1/2 tsp. cumin
  11. Take 1/2 tsp. coriander
  12. Make ready 1/2 tsp. thyme
  13. Make ready Dash paprika
  14. Prepare 3 cups cooked ham, cubed
  15. Get 1/4 cup dry sherry
  16. Prepare Dash salt and pepper
Steps to make Black Bean (w/ Ham) Soup:
  1. Soak the black beans and prep according to the package direction. [For a quick soak, use the boiling water method.]
  2. In a large pot over medium heat, begin heating the oil and sauté the onions and bell pepper until tender, about 5-6 minutes. Add the garlic and sweat them for 30 seconds.
  3. Add the tomato paste and mix all the ingredients well.
  4. Pour in the vegetable broth and then add the drained beans, ham hock and the bay leaf.
  5. Bring to a slight boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Add the cumin, coriander, thyme, and paprika. Partially cover the pot and cook for about 2 hours until the beans are tender.
  6. Remove the ham bone and shred off any meat. Set aside. Allow the soup to cool for a few minutes.
  7. Depending on desired consistency (smooth or chunky), you can puree the soup by using a handheld immersion blender or in batches with a blender.
  8. Add the cooked ham and shredded meat to the soup in the pot. Season with salt and pepper (to taste) and add the sherry. Cook for 15 minutes on medium heat uncovered to heat through.
  9. Serve with toppings of choice such as sour cream or yogurt, green onions, chopped hard-boiled egg, etc. Serve with some crusty bread.

Turn to Food to Elevate Your Mood

A lot of us have been conditioned to think that comfort foods are terrible and are to be avoided. At times, if your comfort food is a high sugar food or some other junk food, this holds true. Otherwise, comfort foods may be super healthy and good for you. Some foods really do elevate your mood when you eat them. When you are feeling a little down and are needing an emotional boost, test out a couple of these.

Eggs, believe it or not, are fantastic for helping you combat depression. You need to make sure, however, that what you make includes the egg yolk. Whenever you wish to cheer yourself up, the egg yolk is the most crucial part of the egg. Eggs, the yolk particularly, are rich in B vitamins. B vitamins can actually help you elevate your mood. This is because the B vitamins help your neural transmitters–the parts of your brain that control your mood–work better. Eat a couple of eggs to jolly up!

Put together a trail mixfrom a variety of seeds and nuts. Almonds, cashews, peanuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and so on are all wonderful for improving your mood. This is because seeds and nuts have lots of magnesium which boosts your brain’s serotonin levels. Serotonin is the “feel good” natural substance that dictates to your brain how you feel at all times. The more serotonin in your brain, the better you’ll feel. Not just that, nuts, in particular, are a fantastic protein source.

Cold water fish are excellent if you are wanting to feel happier. Salmon, herring, tuna, mackerel, trout, and so on, they’re all high in omega-3 fatty acids and DHA. These are two things that really help the grey matter in your brain function a lot better. It’s true: consuming a tuna fish sandwich can basically help you fight depression.

It’s not hard to drive away your bad mood when you eat grains. Teff, barley, millet, quinoa, etc are all wonderful for helping you feel better. They help you feel full as well which can truly help to make your mood better. Feeling famished can be awful! These grains can improve your mood as it’s easy for your body to digest them. They are simpler to digest than other foods which helps bring up your blood sugar levels and that, in turn, raises your mood.

Green tea is excellent for moods. You were just anticipating to read that in this article, weren’t you? Green tea is loaded with an amino acid called L-theanine. Studies have discovered that this amino acid basically induces brain waves. This helps better your mental sharpness while relaxing the rest of your body. You probably already knew how easy it is to get healthy when you consume green tea. Now you know that applies to your mood too!

So you see, you don’t need to consume all that junk food when you want to feel better! Test out these tips instead!