“When we eat the wrong foods, they fuel our cells inefficiently, stress our organs, leach minerals from our bones, clog our arteries, fog our brains, bring on disease, make us fat, addict us to nutritionally vacant substances, and provide no protective health benefits.”
Today I’m taking part in my very first book blog tour! Basically it’s just like a traditional book tour, only it’s happening around the Web today. Bloggers like myself who are participating in the tour are all talking about Chef Del’s Better than Vegan cookbook. You may also recognize Del Sroufe from his bestselling book Forks Over Knives – The Cookbook.
What I find to be most interesting about Del and the book is his personal story about gaining – and then losing – over 200 pounds all while being a vegan. He shares details of how his life often revolved around the restrictions that his weight placed on him, and goes on to talk about how his job at a vegetarian restaurant eventually shaped him into following a meat-free diet — though not necessarily a healthy one.
“There are plenty of good reasons to adopt the began lifestyle, ranging from spiritual beliefs to concerns about personal health and the well-being of the planet, but I’m living proof that, at least as far as health goes, simply avoiding animal products isn’t good enough if you’re eating the wrong foods.”
Del talks about his rules of nutrition, my favorite of which is, Working around the clock is not good for the waistline. I couldn’t agree more with this statement. Maintaining a work/life balance is so important to every aspect of your health.
A central tenet of Del’s cookbook and diet is the elimination of oil. Though the complete elimination of oil is not an aspect of my diet, I can certainly appreciate that all of his recipes are low-fat, whole-food vegan.
And speaking of low-fat, whole-food vegan recipes, today I’m sharing one of the recipes from Better Than Vegan: smoky black bean bisque.
Smoky Black Bean Bisque
Ingredients
- 1 small yellow onion diced small
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 teaspoons cumin seeds toasted and ground
- 2 teaspoons minced fresh oregano
- 3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
- 4 cups cooked black beans
- 2 ½ to 3 cups vegetable stock
- Sea salt to taste
- 1 lime quartered (garnish)
- 1 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro garnish
- 1 small red onion diced small (garnish)
Instructions
- Saute the yellow onion in a stockpot over medium heat for 8 minutes. Add water 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time to keep the onion from sticking. Add the garlic, cumin, and oregano, and cook for another minute. Add the chipotles, black beans, and vegetable stock, and bring to a boil over high heat.
- Decrease the heat to medium and cook the soup, covered, for 20 minutes. Season with salt and puree the soup in batches in a blender. Return the pureed soup to a pot and keep warm. Serve garnished with the lime wedges, cilantro, and red onion.
Interested in trying out some dishes from Better than Vegan and reading Chef Del’s story? Well today I’m giving away a copy of the book! To enter, simply leave a comment below telling me either a.) why you want to win the book, or b.) your answer to the following question: What will you do in 2014 to better yourself?
My answer: In 2014 I really am focused on being my best self. This year I plan to further my education by taking a holistic health class. I’d like to take the principles and ideas I learn from class and apply them to my life, and hopefully help others to lead healthier lives as well. I also plan to focus more on practicing yoga, being centered in my life, and sending positive energy into the world on a daily basis.
Note: Contest is open to residents of U.S. and Canada only. I will randomly select a winner next Wednesday, January 15.
I really would like this book because I am trying once again to go vegan and stay there, mostly for health reasons. I was for a few years but fell astray and have been feeling the consequences. SO in 2014 I vow to better myself through a healthy lifestyle 🙂
contact: ipoliticalworld@gmail.com
Though I’m not a vegan, I eat a lot of whole foods, including some vegan meals, and would like to win this book so that I can have some vegan recipes handy to try out.
I would love to win because I adore cookbooks and love trying new recipes. For 2014 I’m going to work on taking my dog out on more walks (and get more active in general) to help control my fibromyalgia
Dogs are great workout partners! My dog pretty much leaves me no choice – Every day we need to go for a long walk or else she gets crazy hyper!
I am going to make sure I eat breakfast everyday in 2014!
Oh my gosh this picture is drool worthy!! WOW! I just found through Sarah at making thyme for health! I follow you on IG but never realized you blogged too! BONUS time for meeee!!! <3 This recipe sounds awesome…. Black beans used to be my weakness and now I've finally started to eat a normal and not excessive amount of them! HA!
Hey meghan!! So glad that you stopped by my blog. I love both you and Meg on IG and am bookmarking your blog so that I can read it all the time and hear/see more from you ladies!
I would love to win because I am trying to eat vegan one or two meals a day from now on…I need recipes! 🙂
I think that’s a great goal!.. I eat dairy but definitely try to lessen the amount of it that I eat, and usually 2 out of 3 meals will be vegan on a normal day.
Very cute header on your blog! I’m sending this recipe to my brother, I think he would like it!
Thank you!!
Hi, Nicole! Just found your blog via Sarah at Making Thyme for Health, and I’m so glad I did! I adore black bean soups and will be pinning this recipe ASAP! Although I’m not strictly a vegan or even a vegetarian, I’m a major cookbook lover, and a healthy food blogger who’s always looking for new, creative ways to make healthier food choices delicious and also accessible for busy, busy people. Looks like this cookbook is just full of inspiration! So glad to “meet” you today! 😀
HI Shelley, thanks so much for stopping by! I love your openness to trying different kinds of healthy, delicious food. Looking forward to checking out your blog!
Sounds like a great cookbook! I think there are a lot of people that associate the word vegan with healthy food or weight loss but you can be just as unhealthy without eating animal products. It’s all about eating the right foods and this soup looks like a great example of that. Thanks for sharing another great recipe! 🙂
Exactly!!
In 2014 I’m going to make myself better by not letting the little things stress me out so much. I also plan to eat more vegetables on a daily basis. I’ll be pulling lots of recipes off of your blog to accomplish the last one! 🙂
Great giveaway! I would love to win because I am so interested in learning more vegan recipes! In 2014 I hope to stop waiting for things to happen and start making them happen for myself.
I actually met Chef Del at a conference last year, and I would love to have a copy of his book! Honestly, this year I just want to enjoy life and being a better, healthier person.
Congrats on winning the book Jordan! Hope that you enjoy it. Keep me posted on what recipes you try!!
The books sounds great! In 2014 I want to make exercise a consistent thing instead of just going to the gym on and off.
I recently just got a vegetarian cookbook for Christmas- my first one! I would love to add to my newly started collection. I seem to always be stuck making the same type of food and I would love to have new ideas to be inspired by!
I want this book so bad because I’m vegan since 2012 and I’m always in search for more recipes and fun! I really love being vegan and now I’m trying to eat more raw food for 2014 🙂
I hear you, I’m always looking for new recipes & coming up with my own… Keeps things fun right?!
Love this bean recipe and want to win this vegan book to wake up my taste buds and motivate me to make vegan meals more exciting! I chose to focus on a few New Years resolutions to increase my success of sticking to them. One is replacing green tea with coffee (which I drink to much of) and consistently use my kettlebells to make my body stronger. These two fitness and nutrition goals I can keep throughout the year. Thank you!!
Those sound like great resolutions! I’m a big fan of both green tea and kettle bell workouts.
I recently heard about this book, very cool! I’d love to win because I’m always looking for new recipes to spice up my usually pretty boring meals.
I would love to try out new ways of cooking! In 2014 I plan on building my strength so that I can lift my SCUBA gear without any problems.
That’s a great goal I think! Very practical. Good luck building those muscles! 😉
I would like to win the book because I’m trying to eat less meat, and I think it would give me some good ideas of recipes to try!
This year, I’m going to better myself by going to bed before midnight!
B) In 2014 I will better myself by drinking more water and exercising more!
I would love to win this book! I have been fluctuating between vegan and vegetarian for the last 12+ years but hope to become fully vegan this year and this cookbook would be an excellent addition to my repertoire for recipes! I am working hard this year on betting myself physically, mentally and spiritually. Here is hoping for a lot of growth!
Wishing you the best of luck, Tiffany!
I want to eat more fruits and vegetables this year, and exercise more often.
I want to win because I love cookbooks!
I would really love to win this book because my family and I have been interested in becoming vegans for a long time, just have never had a clue how to go about it.
You should check out Vegetarian Times – They’re a great resource for vegetarian/vegan recipes & tips!
Well, I’d like to win this book just because that recipe there is so tempting, I want more like it! Black Bean Bisque sounds amazing. In 2014, I’m going to get up and stop making excuses to work out and walk more.
Wishing you lots of success in your goal to move more this year!
I love cookbooks and I don’t have a vegan cookbook yet.