I decided to switch it up and do a soup. Not just any boring soup. Soup can sometimes be boring. I think even chili can be boring. However, when I ran across this recipe for Texas Black Bean Chowder from Better Homes and Gardens, this was a nice shake up of the boring soup game. Black beans, corn, veggies and hot peppers in a creamy soup. Yes please. It’s even vegetarian, but not in a way that would have your meat eaters turning their nose up at it. So a lot going for this recipe. Plenty of protein and vitamin C. But, it’s not a gluten free recipe and it needs vitamin A and the calories are a bit high. No matter. I think I can make this recipe a bit healthier without sacrificing the creaminess of the soup. Here are the original stats:

Here’s what I changed:

• I increased the servings from 6 to 12 to lower the calories
• I replaced the flour with cornstarch to make the recipe gluten free
• I replaced half of the potatoes with sweet potato to increase the vitamin A.
• I increased the bell pepper to 3 cups to increase the vitamin C.
• I reduced the cheese to 1.5 cups to reduce the calories
• I replaced the half and half with lite coconut milk to make more dairy free.
• I increased the black beans to 2 cans and used a low sodium variety
• I added lentils to bulk out the protein

Here are the final stats:

Here is the final recipe:

Texas Spicy Black Bean Chowder

Serves 12

• 2 tablespoons butter

• 1 cup chopped onion

• 3 cup chopped red sweet pepper

• 1/2 pound chopped round red potatoes

• 3/4 pound chopped sweet potato

• 2 15 ounce cans low sodium black beans, rinsed and drained

• 2.5 cups brown lentils

• 1 cup frozen corn

• 2 4 ounces chopped green chiles

• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth

• 1 ½ teaspoons chili powder

• ½ teaspoon ground cumin

• 1 can light coconut milk

• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

• 1.5 cups shredded cheddar or Monterrey Jack cheese (8 ounces)

• 2 tablespoons snipped fresh cilantro