I've been experimenting a bit with plant-based pressure-cooker recipes. All you have to do is pressure cook beans/chickpeas in mushroom broth for a bit, add black/red rice, pressure cook some more, then add vegetables/lentils/potatoes, and pressure cook 10 more minutes. Then stir in any extras. You then have a healthy meal for about $2-$3. There's virtually unlimited meals you can do following this formula. My favorite spices for plant-based meals are Indian spices like garam marsala and lal mirch chili powder. This particular recipe is American-style, but some popular Indian spices like turmeric, cumin, and coriander are used. Black beans and purple potatoes have a low glycemic index and are filled with healthy anthocyanins, which are responsible for the dark pigment in things like blue corn, purple carrots, black quinoa, black lentils, and black rice. I try to use these instead of other carbs as much as possible. The ancient Chinese thought black rice extended the life of the royal family and it's quite possible that anthocyanins in black rice really did promote good health. As usual, I use mushroom broth and tomato powder instead of vegetable broth and tomato paste to save money. You can buy a big bag of dried mushrooms at an Asian market for cheap. Donko shiitakes are the best, they're grown on logs and basically completely organic even if they're not certified as such. Despite being high in carbs, the glycemic load of this meal should be fairly low since black beans and purple potatoes have a low glycemic index. This makes a huge bowl of soup, but it only comes in at about 500 calories.

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Black Bean & Purple Potato Soup

Ingredients

Mushroom Broth

• 1/3rd cup dried donko shiitake mushrooms(or any dried mushroom)
• 2 and 1/4 cups water

  Soup

• 1/2 cup dried black beans
• 1 cup sliced purple potatoes (skin on)
• 1/4 cup diced carrots
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp coriander
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp cayenne (optional, for heat)
• 1 tsp tomato powder
• Salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste
• 2–3 tbsp coconut milk(I use Califia Farms unsweetened organic)
• 1–2 tsp lime juice(I uses Santa Cruz organic)
• Parsley (optional garnish for color)

Procedure

• Place the dried mushrooms and water in a pressure cooker and cook for up to 1 hour. This should yield about two cups of broth. Discard the mushrooms or use them in another recipe.
• Pressure cook black beans with mushroom broth for 45 minutes, then quick release the steam.
• Add potatoes, carrots, garlic, bay leaf, spices, tomato powder, and salt. Pressure cook for 10 minutes more, then quick release the steam.
• Stir in coconut milk and finish with lime juice. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.
• Garnish with parsley if desired.