Black Bells

So if you haven't noticed, Mike & I LOVE Bell Peppers. How can you not? They are crunchy & sweet, good hot or cold, with dip or just to munch on during the day. I love also love the bright colors they bring to the dinner table. At the beginning of the summer this year, our gym did a 60-day Zone Diet challenge. Now if you don't know what the Zone Diet is, check it out! It is not so much a diet, but a way of eating that allows your body to absorb the right amount of fuel from the right amount of "good" carbs, protein and "good" fat. Anyway, we were assigned teams and our team had dinner together one of the nights. Sean was making 2 roast chickens and I was in charge of the side dishes. Now on the zone, everything is measured out by "blocks." Depending on your size, you eat a certain number of blocks each day. (If you are interested and want more info... just email me. I have a WONDERFUL chart that really explains it all.)

With the inspiration of coming up with a good, healthy side dish that was still filling... I came up with the following:

2 cans of black beans (30oz)

1 sm. can of green chiles

1/2 cup pace salsa

2 or 3 tbsp of chopped cilantro

6 bell peppers (i used orange & yellow b/c i liked the bright colors)

shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Drain & rinse the black beans. Put the beans, salsa & chiles in a saucepan and heat over medium heat just to blend the flavors. Stir every once in awhile just to make sure they don't burn or stick to the pan. Cut the bells in half long-ways. When you are pulling out the stem, make sure not to take the whole top off as you need it as a border for the beans. 

Place each half bell in a greased baking dish. Sprinkle with salt & pepper. Measure out 1/4 cup of black beans into each "bell cup" and top with just a sprinkle of cheese (this is more for looks than for taste, but add more if you want). 

Cover with aluminum & place in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove foil & bake another 15 minutes so you get that nice cheesy crust on the top. This just barely cooks the peppers, but they are still a bit crunchy. If you want them to be a little more mushy, then cook for another 15 minutes or so. Top with fresh chopped cilantro for some more great color!

Zone Breakdown

Makes 12 half pepper servings. Each pepper is 1.5 carb blocks & less than half of a fat block (depends on the amt of cheese you use).

Enjoy!! =)