Americans are eating too much meat. Because the price of meat is relatively inexpensive, too many of us now assume that we are entitled to animal protein on a daily basis. Factory farms give us abundant supplies of impossibly cheap meat, but cheap food comes with a price: your health!

My family doesn’t eat any beef or pork for various reasons. While I’m not a huge fan of the flavor, I also think the raising and processing of these animals has become intolerably inhumane for animals and unhealthy for humans. I would encourage you to watch “Food, Inc” and “King Korn”, two entertaining and informative documentaries that very clearly point out the faults in our food processing system.

Please make thoughtful food purchases, and don’t let cheap prices lure you. Buy only organic meats from a trusted source. While you may be spending more per pound, you are actually getting a better quality product and a healthier diet. So, if your weekly grocery budget allows for $50 worth of meat, and you expect that meat to fill 5-6 meals, why not adjust your expectations and let that $50 work for 2-3 meals instead? We buy our poultry from a farm about 80 miles from our home. We know the farmers and we trust their methods of raising and butchering the meat. As with most things, when it comes to food you absolutely get what you pay for!

On the nights we don’t eat poultry or fish I often incorporate beans or tofu into the menu. I much prefer using dried beans instead of canned. Dried beans are considerably less expensive than canned. Further, cans are lined with BPA, a dangerous additive found in several plastics and can liners. I’ve written about BPA before, and I make every effort I can to avoid it.

Dried beans take a little bit of extra work, but its so nice to have them on hand. I always have a batch of prepared beans in the fridge or freezer (easy directions are found on the back of the bags). With chick peas (aka garbanzo beans) I whip up hummus or generously sprinkle them onto a big salad. With black beans I can puree a quick soup or serve them in place of ground beef in tacos or Mexican salad. And with navy beans or great northern beans I prepare this healthy and surprisingly delicious soup in less time than it takes to drive to a fast-food restaurant.

My Green Soup
4 cups chicken broth (I use four cups of water and four teaspoons of Better Than Bullion because A: is is less expensive than regular broth and B: it creates a lot less waste)
2 garlic cloves
1 very small onion, diced
1 big bunch of leafy greens (about 3-4 cups), such as kale, chard, or spinach leaves
1 cup of prepared beans (I like using navy or great northern in this recipe)

Bring the broth to a boil. Drop in all the veggies and simmer for 10 minutes. Add in beans. Puree directly in the soup pot with an immersion blender (or in batches in your regular blender) and enjoy!

The beans help to thicken the soup and they also add a wonderful boost of heart healthy protein.