Black bean soup is one of those plant-based comfort foods that everyone enjoys. The flavor isn’t too ‘in your face,’ it’s easy to throw together, and the pot is always empty no matter how big a batch you make! The six insatiable eaters in my home (yup, that’s all of us!) can eat two bowls each and all I can think about is the goodness we are getting in each bite!

Healthy Black Bean Soup

As always with my recipes, a big part of what makes a meal clean, healthy and nutritious is the quality of ingredients that comprise it. I’m going to break down the ingredient choices I make for Black Bean Soup and why they’re good for you. * When you click on my favorite product links, I may earn a tiny commission from qualifying purchases, at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting Big Little Bites blog*

Black Beans

You could crack open a couple of cans of black beans and pour them in the pot, but it’s not the cleanest or healthiest way to consume black beans. Cans are usually aluminum and they are lined with some kind of manmade plastic coating. When food is canned, the cans are heated up in order to seal and preserve the contents. That means the materials of the can are leaching into the food that you are then consuming. Buying BPA-free? Well, BPA is just one known plastic product to be risky for human consumption. Consider that in order to eliminate BPA, food packaging manufacturers must then rely on another plastic material in it’s place. Is it better, is it worse? No one knows. I avoid canned foods just like I avoid cooking with aluminum foil and heating my foods in plastic bags or tupperware. I always choose dried black beans and soak them overnight for 8 hours. 

Sprouted Black Beans v Soaked Black Beans

How we prepare beans is actually very, very important to our health. The correct preparation is actually a step towards a chronic disease-free lifestyle. Sprouting black beans, or any beans/nuts/seeds/grains, eliminates the harmful antinutrients and phytic acid and increases the healthy nutrient value at the same time. 

Most people that buy a bag of dried beans, will soak it overnight or even do a rapid soak per directions on the bag. The issue with this is that soaking for 8 hours, or even 16 hours, is not enough time to break down the antinutrients. However when you take the time to allow the beans to sprout for a couple of days after soaking, the harmful effects antinutrients and phytic acid are drastically minimized. Once the beans are cooked, they are even safer to eat. Years of eating unsprouted beans can do so much harm on your digestive tract. To learn more information about how sprouting is healthier for you and how to do it, click here. 

Olive Oil

Want to know something crazy and frustrating about our food industry? There’s a lot of marketing fraud! Many olive oils sold on grocery store shelves, are anything but pure olive oil. Many bottles labeled olive oil, are cheapened with lesser grade oils to create a larger profit margin for the company. “Extra Virgin” doesn’t always denote what you’re getting, the oil being sold may be soiled, and there may be other fraudulent labeling claims, because the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) isn’t regulating any of it. Olive oil companies are not required to even list the ingredients. I could talk for hours about this, but I’m going to just give you some quick tips for choosing a quality olive oil as well as let you know my favorite brand (they aren’t paying me, I found them years ago and just haven’t used any other olive oil else since):

1. Choose olive oil that comes in a dark colored bottle. 
2. If the bottle is low-priced, it’s not pure, quality olive oil. Producing real olive oil is expensive, and pricing should reflect that.
3. Bottles labeled “pure” or “light” are chemically refined.
4. Check the bottle for a harvest date, in addition to the expiration or sell-by date. Count up 18 months from the harvest date, to make sure that bottle is still fresh.
5. It should taste fresh, green or grassy and maybe even fruity.
6. Check the bottle or brand for certifications from the North American Olive Oil Association or the International Olive Council.

Finally, if you want to skip the research and go based off my own – you really cannot go wrong with California Olive Ranch olive oils. I could drink these right from the bottle, they are so pure and delicious! Once you’ve tasted real, quality olive oil, you’ll recognize the difference right away. All of their bottles showcase a harvest date, they are all extra-virgin and the flavors range from mild to peppery, and they are certified and verified by third-party organizations. 

Salt

Salt is a big one for me. I grew up with parents whose generation talked about reducing sodium intake, and likely for good reason. When I was growing up in the 80’s and 90’s, processed, packaged foods laden with sodium were a daily norm. So why all the sudden am I saying salt is good? Well the problem with table salt and salt in packaged foods, is that it’s been stripped and processed to death, taking anything good out of it. Then they put in additives, like anti-caking agents which alter the color of the salt, leading them to bleach it as well. Yuck. Did you know that refined salt is actually linked to autoimmune disease? Who’s ready to ditch their common salt shaker and make a change? 

Our bodies actually need salt to survive – we are made up of over 70% salt water and need. Choose a salt that is labeled unrefined, lists the natural trace minerals and has no additives. 

I choose Redmond Real Salt because it’s harvested from an ancient sea, right here in the United States of America. Real Salt is unrefined, contains 60+ trace minerals which lend it’s colorful appearance and has zero additives. It’s unprocessed and good for you! But don’t take my word for it, check out this informational booklet thats an easy read and explains the differences in salt and why Real Salt is healthy. If you want to try Real Salt, use the discount code “BLB” for 15% off!