♥ vegetables are a must on a diet. I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread, and pumpkin pie.

here is a bit of real dialogue that happened between my husband and i:

me: now that the weather is getting colder, i really want to start cooking healthy meals and using the oven more. this summer it was way too hot to cook anything substantial and i feel like all we ate

 for dinner was ice cream.

nick: oh no. fall is pie season. first there's apple picking, then thanksgiving and christmas.

that is the time when all the best pies are made. i plan on eating lots of pie.

this time of year is not for being healthy.

pusheen via ohhaimagz.

since shared eating habits have been proven amongst spouses & close friends,

i am going to try to balance out my man's penchant for pies with some 

delicious, nutritious vegetarian cuisine. 

(or as he calls it- rabbit's food)

tonight, i tried this vegetarian black bean chili recipe.

it was fairly easy to make and the perfect chili for a chilly evening.

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ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 small onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

coarse salt & ground pepper

2 zucchini, halved and diced

2 carrots, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin 

2 cans of black beans, rinsed & drained

1 package of frozen corn kernels, thawed

directions:

1) in a 5 quart dutch oven or heavy pot, heat oil over medium-high. add onion & garlic; season 

with salt & pepper. cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to soften, about 4 min.

2) add zucchini, carrots, chili powder, & cumin. cook, stirring occasionally, until carrots are

crisp-tender, 6-8 minutes. add beans, tomatoes, corn and 1 cup of water. simmer until slightly

thickened and carrots are soft, 8-10 minutes more.