Orange-Ginger Butternut Squash And Dahl Soup With Black Rice - Featured In Today's High Fiber, Vegan Weight Loss Menu

Black rice adds contrast and antioxidants to this soup.

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Vegan, High Fiber Diet
On Tuesday I introduced our Vegan, High Fiber Diet to help shed some of those holiday pounds. Below is a sample high fiber, weight loss menu featuring a delicious low calorie soup that delivers 8 g of fiber by itself or 11 g of fiber when served with a very interesting black rice that I discovered this week.

Black Rice
I'm usually not an impulse shopper, especially in Costco where they typically sample all kinds of foods that I'd never eat. But this week they were handing out black rice cooked with some cranberries and pine nuts. I was hooked and immediately picked up a 4 pound bag of black rice - probably enough to last me several years!

1/4 cup dry black rice provides:
160 calories
1.5 g total fat, 0 saturated fat
0 mg cholesterol
36 g carbohydrates
5 g protein
3 g dietary fiber
0 mg sodium

 Black rice tastes a bit sweet and is more delicate than brown rice. You can be sure something this rich in color is packed with antioxidant-rich phytochemicals. 

Black rice cooks like brown rice and can be made on the brown rice setting on your rice cooker.

Orange-Ginger Butternut Squash and Dahl Soup with Black Rice
Vegan, Gluten Free
[makes 6 servings]
Requires a blender

1 cup uncooked, black rice (you can use any rice, of course)
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped, fresh ginger root
5 cups vegetable broth ( or 5 cups water plus 1 large Rapunzel vegan bouillon cube)
1 orange, zested and juiced (about 2 teaspoons zest and 6 tablespoons juice)
1 bay leaf
3 pound butternut squash, peeled and cubed (about 8 cups)
1 cup red lentil Dahl
1/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
1/4 teaspoon black pepper or to taste

Cook the rice according to manufacturers directions. If you have a rice cooker, prepare it on the brown rice setting.

Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot.  Add the onions and cook until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and cook another 2 minutes.

Add the broth, the zest of 1 orange, the bay leaf, butternut squash and red lentils and bring to a boil on high heat. Reduce the heat, cover and cook on a low boil until the squash and lentils are soft, about 30 minutes.

Add broth, squash and dahl.

Cook until soft, about 30 minutes.

Place the soup in a blender and, in batches, process until smooth. Return soup to the pot.

Blend until smooth.

Stir in the orange juice and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve the soup topped with mini scoops of black (or brown) rice. 

Per serving (without rice): 232 calories, 3 g total fat, 1 g saturated fat, 143 mg omega-3 and 472 mg omega-6 fatty acids, 10 g protein, 45 g carbohydrates, 8 g dietary fiber and 445 mg of sodium. 
 Per serving (with rice): 339 calories, 4 g total fat, 1 g saturated fat, 143 mg omega-3 and 472 mg omega-6 fatty acids*, 15 g protein, 81 g carbohydrates, 11g dietary fiber and 445 mg of sodium.
* essential fatty acids do not include contribution from black rice since that information is not available from the manufacturer.

Today's Vegan, High Fiber, Weight Loss Menu    

Today's menu provides around 1200 calories and 38 grams of fiber. If you are shooting for 1500 calories, you can add a snack in the afternoon of fruit and a handful of walnuts or a container of non-dairy yogurt.

Drink a glass of water upon waking, before each meal and between each meal and aim for 8 glasses a day.

Breakfast
* A hearty bowl of oatmeal with bananas, English walnuts and raisins 
* Green tea or black coffee 

This delicious oatmeal recipe keeps you full all morning!

Lunch
* Hummus sandwich with avocado, roasted red pepper, thinly sliced cucumber and sprouts on whole grain bread

Substitute your favorite veggies if you like such as:
artichoke hearts, kalimata olives, butter lettuce, etc.

Dinner
* Tossed green salad with low fat dressing
* Large bowl of butternut squash and dahl soup with scoops of black rice (see recipe above)

Place mini-scoops of black rice on top of the soup.

Snack
* 3 cups air-popped popcorn