7 Healthy Recipes to Make in a Slow Cooker

Vegan Black Bean Soup

I over did it this holiday season. Are you with me? I need to slim down, but eating steamed fish with steamed veggies is only going to leave me wanting a giant brownie for dessert. What I need is a hearty meal that will leave me satisfied without leaving extra around the gut. Oh, did I mention I'm exhausted from the holidays and need someone else to cook? My problems are solved! Meals that are lower in fat and calories and the slow cooker takes care of the rest. Dreams do come true.

1. Vegan Black Bean Soup
Cook up this vegan black bean soup for a healthy dinner to warm up with this winter! I suggest adding chili powder for an extra-spicy kick!

Ingredients:

canola or olive oil, for cooking
1 large purple onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
4-5 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp. ground cumin
1 16 oz package dried black beans (or 2 cups)
1 Tbsp. chipotle chiles en adobo (optional - it gives a nice smoky taste, but you could sub chili powder)
7 cups hot

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Our Favorite Winter Veggie Side Dish

Roasted winter vegetables

By Chef Meg Galvin, Healthy Cooking Expert at SparkPeople.com
By roasting these hearty winter vegetables, we soften their strong tastes and bring out their natural sweetness.You can use any combination of these three vegetables in this recipe.

Fennel has a mild licorice flavor, and it becomes very sweet when roasted. You can save the fronds for use as garnish or in salads, but discard the tough green stems.
To prep the fennel, slice off the root end, then remove the stems. Slice in half from root to tip, remove the tough inner core, and slice into half-moons.

To prep fresh Brussels sprouts, rinse them well, then slice off the ends, remove the outer layers, and cut into quarters. Rinse again to remove any residual dirt.

Minutes to Prepare: 15
Minutes to Cook: 30
Number of Servings: 8
Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 head cauliflower, broken into florets
2 small fennel bulbs, sliced (white parts only)
2 cups Brussels sprouts,

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5 Signs You’ve Picked a Bad Restaurant

Molten Chocolate Cake: exciting at home, not in a restaurant.

In the New Year, you'll be confronted with a whirlwind of new and unfamiliar dining options hungry for business. Burgers and meatballs will fly, but keep alert and you can avoid the most tragic meals. Here's when to back away.

1. There's more than one cocktail ending in "-tini." If you reach for the cocktail list and a fruit, candy or emotion is fused with that suffix in place of a gin or vodka martini, then things are looking bleak. The appletini is a serious offender, but plumtinis and passiontinis are also indicative of cocktail abuse.

50 Best Bars in America

2. The server tells you to "save room for dessert." There are several red-flag phrases that misguided servers repeat. "Are you still enjoying that?" feels a bit presumptuous if there's still food on the plate, no? Being told that "everything is so good" without asking, or as menus are put down, is also off-putting.

Beautiful Desserts

3. Molten chocolate

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8 Spiked Hot Coffee Recipes Will Warm You to Your Toes

irish coffee

It was a rainy, blustery morning here in New York City and I'm moving slowly. I have one thing on my mind right now: Coffee! But not just a plain cup of coffee. What would really get my engines going is a hot cuppa with a little something special mixed in. But that will have to wait until after work for me.

We all know about Irish coffee -- coffee spiked with whiskey (preferably Irish) with a glug of half 'n' half. But how about some other fun coffee drink ideas? Here are eight hot, spiky recipes to keep you niiiiiiiice and toasty this weekend.

More from The Stir: Most Dangerous Tea in the World Sounds Too Delicious to Resist
Cafe de Olla -- Coffee Mexican style, brewed with cinnamon. Use brown sugar if you can't find piloncillo, and if you add a dollop of Kahlua, we won't tell.

Bavarian coffee -- Kahlua and coffee is a classic combo, but a shot of Peppermint Schnapps makes is go down that much easier.

Cafe Brulot -- People from New Orleans party in style

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Mouthwatering Whoopie Pie Recipes

Chocolate Mint Whoopie PIes

Whoopie pies are not only fun to say but they're super fun to eat. These sweet treats are said to have originated from the Amish who would make them and pack them in lunches. The lucky lunch recipients would shout "Whoopie" when they opened their lunch saks ... or so the story goes. Today you can find whoopie pies in just about every boutique bakery across the country! These desserts are perfect for just about any occasion and the flavor possibilities are limitless! To help narrow it down, we've put together 6 mouthwatering whoopies for you to choose from:

1. Chocolate Mint Whoopie Pies
These big, cakey whoopie pies are sandwiched with fluffy, marshmallowy frosting and are predictably irresistible.

Ingredients:

Cookies
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla or mint extract
2 cups all-purpose flour (or half all-purpose, half whole wheat)
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Filling
3/4 cup

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