Vegetarians in Paradise/Sloth/Frijole-dillas/Frijoles/Quesadillas

With this issue Vegetarians in Paradise continues the bean explorations of VOW, a diabetic who has discovered the importance of beans in her diet. In subsequent VIP issues VOW will enlighten our readers with the further Adventures of the Bean.

Adventures of the Bean #14

Sloth and "Frijole-dillas"

by VOW

Includes Recipe Below

"It's too cold."

"It's raining."

"I'm tired."

"The kids are sick."

"I'm sick."

"I've got too much to do."

"I need to go grocery shopping, instead."

"I'll do it later."

"Tomorrow, for sure."

The dictionary defines "sloth" as "aversion to work or exertion; laziness; indolence, or any of various slow-moving, arboreal, edentate mammals of the family Bradypodidae of South and Central America, having long hooklike claws by which they hang upside down from tree branches and feeding on leaves, buds, and fruits." Sloth is also one of the seven deadly sins.

VOW Since my favorite place is a recliner and not a tree, I fit the first definition. And I can definitely understand why slothfulness is a deadly sin. If you are wallowing in sloth, you find yourself LYING about why you can't possibly exercise. You sure can't lie to the scale or the blood glucose meter, though!

I hate exercise. I could probably even say that exercise hates me, since I've been known to get hurt trying to do it. It's boring, it's uncomfortable, it's HOT and sweaty, and my body doesn't cooperate. It seems I don't bend where "normal" human beings do. For every reason you can list as to why I must exercise, I can probably concoct ten excuses as to why I just can't possibly do it right now.

And I think I've mentioned before that there's no "later" on any calendar or planner!

So, I'll whine, I'll pout, I'll stomp my feet, I might even do a kicking, screaming tantrum on the floor. I can probably even squeeze out a few tears while crying, "It's not FAIR." (Boy, talk about the "Inner Child"! Mine is a BRAT!)

And then I'll get out my sweats and my sneakers and get busy.

Afterwards, I'll hustle my diabetic butt out to the kitchen and fix this month's recipe.

Here in Southern California, the Mexican cuisine is everywhere. As kids, we enjoyed an easy-to-fix snack that was essentially a Mexican grilled cheese sandwich, called a "quesadilla." You take a tortilla, warm it on a grill, and place cheese on half of it. Fold it over, grill on both sides until toasted, and it was ready.

That's not exactly a vegan snack. Sure, you can substitute a vegan cheese-type filling, but I had a new bean to test drive. And I was just about "souped-out." The calendar says this is spring, and the crockpot needs a rest!

We all know about soybeans, right? You can cook them, make milk out of them, create tofu, and with the proper equipment, you can even fashion them into meat analogs.

Bet you didn't know that soybeans come in two colors, though! Most soy products are made from yellow soybeans. If you do some searching, you can find BLACK soybeans. And those are the stars of my recipe! I picked up a can of black soybeans and checked out the nutritional information on the label: a half-cup serving contains 120 calories, 6 grams of "good" fat, 8 grams of carbohydrate, 7 grams of fiber, and 11 whopping grams of protein. What a powerhouse! These little guys needed my attention!

"Frijole-dillas"

Cut eggplant in half lengthwise, and place cut side down on a baking sheet. Bake 30-45 minutes at 350 degrees (Gas Mark 4), until flesh is soft when knife is inserted.
Put eggplant pulp (should be about two cups), garlic, onion, and drained soybeans in food processor. Pulse until well blended, and soybeans are in very small pieces.
In a large, dry, non-stick skillet over medium heat, place a tortilla and allow to warm until soft. Low-carb tortillas are not as flexible as regular ones, so be sure to check often.
Once tortilla is bendable, spread one-fourth cup of eggplant-bean mixture on half of tortilla and fold into a half-moon shape. Toast on both sides until filling is heated thoroughly, and tortilla is browned.
Prepare remaining tortillas, and serve. These can also be wrapped in foil and refrigerated, then warmed in a toaster-oven before serving.

Makes ten "Frijole-dillas."
143 calories each
7 grams fat
19 grams carbohydrates
12 grams fiber
9 grams protein

Note: When garlic bulbs are on sale, I buy a lot of them! I cut off the tops, place in a roasting pan and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and bake at 350 degrees for about an hour. These can then be refrigerated in a tightly closed container and used to flavor everything except ice cream, LOL. Since I used the roasted garlic in the recipe, I figured there was about one tablespoon of olive oil included. If you don't use roasted garlic, then adjust the recipe nutritional data accordingly.

And if I promise to start exercising again, will you promise to do the same?

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