A Healthy Soup

As I have been learning more about nutrition, I have been making an effort to eat more beans.  As I have been very busy lately, I've relied more heavily on my slow-cooker.  The result is that about half of my dinners over the last two months have been bean and vegetable soups.  They have been great!  They taste good, I can fiddle with the spices and veggies for variety, I've been losing weight, and I've been sleeping and feeling better.

2 cups of dry beans (I use a half cup of each of four kinds that cost $0.80-1.60/lb)
soaked overnight, then brought to a boil for a few minutes.  Black, kidney, navy, pinto, red, whatever.

stock - whatever bones or stock I've got, sieved.  I don't measure it.

1 lb carrots, sliced
1/2 head green cabbage
some sauteed/caramelized onions
some sliced celery
peppers, scallions, or whatever else was cheap that week

Sometimes I add some barley or rice to thicken the soup.

hot peppers to kick it up, the standard Italian herbs

A crock of this lasts 10-15 meals for $5-10, depending on what veggies are put in.  I tend to eat it with corn chips (organic unsalted from Trader Joe's, $2.50/lb) and some cheese.  It's easy, it's cheap, and it's good for you.