If you don't know what to have for dinner tonight ...

This hearty, spicy bean soup has a lot of flavor and is high in protein without being high in fat-a perfect vegetarian meal for a cold winter's day.

Prep and Cook Time: Prep time: 15 minutes Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 medium carrot chopped in 1/2 inch pieces
• 1 stalk celery chopped in 1/2 inch pieces
• 4 medium cloves garlic, chopped
• 3 cups + 1 TBS chicken or vegetable broth
• 3 TBS tomato paste
• 1 TBS ground cumin
• 2 TBS red chili powder
• 1 TBS dried oregano
• 1 15oz can organic red kidney beans, drained
• salt & pepper to taste
• Lime yogurt
• ½ cup plain yogurt
• 1 TBS lime or lemon juice
• 1 TBS chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:

1. Chop onions and garlic and let sit for 5 minutes to bring out their hidden health benefits.
2. Chop carrots and celery.
3. Heat 1 TBS broth in medium sized soup pot. Healthy Saute onion in broth over medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until translucent. Add garlic, carrots, celery, and continue to sauté for another minute.
4. Add broth, tomato paste, kidney beans, and spices. Bring to a boil. Once it comes to a boil, reduce heat to medium low and simmer uncovered for another 15-20 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. Let cool for a few minutes while making lime yogurt.
5. Make lime yogurt by combining yogurt, lime juice, and cilantro in separate small bowl.
6. Blend soup. Be careful to start blender on low speed so hot soup does not erupt and burn you. And make sure you don't fill blender more than half full. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Reheat, and pour into serving bowls, top with a spoonful of lime yogurt, and serve.
   Serves 4
   Serving Suggestions:
   Serve with
   • Romaine & Avocado Salad

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In-Depth Nutritional Profile for Red Kidney Bean Soup with Lime Yogurt

Daily Food Tip

If on a given day you take in more than 100% of the Daily Value for any nutrient should you reduce the intake of that nutrient the followi

Q. What does it mean when a food item contains over 100% of the daily nutritional value for a particular nutrient? For example, a cup of bell pepper contains 291.3% of the DV for vitamin C according to your charts. Does that mean I should take in less vitamin C for the next two days?

A. No, eating over 100% of the Daily Value for a nutrient does not mean that you have to compensate by avoiding that nutrient in the future. Your question is an excellent one, however, and we'd like to take the time to better explain the interpretation of the percentages that are presented on our website.

In order to give our readers a shorthand method for determining the nutritional benefits of any particular food, we decided to use a concept called "Daily Value." Daily Values are the standards by which foods are evaluated on packaging labels. On most packaged foods you'll find an information panel on the back of the package (or sometimes on the side of the package) called "Nutrition Facts." The right hand column of this Nutrition Facts panel always lists "% Daily Value." With a few exceptions, these are the exact same Daily Values that we use on our website! You'll notice that these Daily Values are not specific to men or women or different age groups. They are a "one size fits all" type of measurement. However, while we know that one size does not fit all we believe that these Daily Values are a great shorthand method for selecting foods on a meal plan. For those who want more in-depth information on diet planning, go to "Healthy Eating for the Entire Family," which can be found in the Feeling Great section of the website.

When you get 100% of a nutrient's Daily Value, it means that you are getting enough of the nutrient to meet the average daily need for a generally healthy adult. "100% DV" means that there is enough of the nutrient to cover the general biochemical need for that nutrient in the human body for one day. It does not guarantee, however, that you have enough of the nutrient to meet your personal, individual needs. For example, there are many chronic health problems that deplete certain nutrients from your body. These problems would cause your body to need more than 100% DV. So would the use of certain prescription or over-the-counter medications. The 100% DV guideline gives you a ballpark estimate of how much you are satisfying your nutritional needs for a day. For example, if you only have 10% DV for a nutrient, you can be sure you are not getting enough of that nutrient.

When you go over 100%DV, it simply means that you have provided your body with more than enough of the nutrient to meet your body's general biochemical needs on that day. Your body will decide what to do the extra amount. It may decide to eliminate it altogether, and so you will find it passing out of the body when you urinate or move your bowel. Your body may also decide to store the nutrient, either temporarily or for a longer period of time. In general, we do not recommend going over approximately 200% DV for any particular nutrient unless you have some evidence to suggest that more than 200% is needed. Many healthcare practitioners go far over 200% DV in recommending nutrient intake to their patients, and many research studies show that even 1000% DV is sometimes needed to meet the body's needs. But unless you know what is happening inside your body from a biochemical and nutrient standpoint, large excesses can also be potentially harmful to your health. This is our reason for suggesting people stay, in general, within a 100-200% DV range.

You asked about vitamin C and bell pepper, and we do want to point out that in the case of certain water-soluble vitamins (including vitamin C, as well as vitamins B1, B2, and B5, there is no research suggesting that doses higher than 200% DV are harmful to the body, and no reason to believe that a cup of bell pepper providing 291.3% DV is problematic in any way. In fact, we can only think of potential benefits associated with this level of vitamin C intake. The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) has set 2,000 milligrams per day as the Tolerable Upper Limit (UL) for daily intake of vitamin C, but you are far, far below this amount with a cup of bell pepper. In addition, the NAS has stated that it is dietary supplements of vitamin C that they are primarily concerned about, not food intake of vitamin C.

You definitely should not try and compensate for the 291.3% DV intake by avoiding vitamin C for the next two days, and you should definitely still try to get at least 100% DV on those days! The Daily Value is exactly what it says - an amount that we need each day. When you are planning out your weekly meals, the goal would be to have each day's food provide at least 100% DV for all nutrients. If you go over that amount by up to 100%, in most cases, the extra amount will be processed by your body in whatever way is needed to get you ready for the next day. On that next day, you simply try for the same result as the day before - creating a meal plan that provides you with at least 100% DV for all nutrients.

For more information on this topic, see:

• Bell peppers
• Vitamin C
• How should I read the Nutrition Facts panel on foods?