Beans and seeds with Canadian bacon

Beans often get listed as a super food, and if I remember correctly even official dietary guidelines suggest we get 3 instead of 1 cup per week of some type of bean. I have to say chickpeas are my favorite, closely followed by black eyed peas. The latter is somewhere between a bean and a pea and it's truly earthy and full in texture. Beans are rich in fiber, pretty decent protein, they cause amazing fullness and offer high quality antioxidants and phytochemicals. What's not to like? Well, if you use canned organic beans like I do, you have little to worry about in terms of unpleasant tummy feelings. If you boil your own from scratch, always soak dry beans overnight, drain, wash and boil with fresh water.

For this recipe for two I used:
1 can (1 1/2 cups drained) black eyed peas (or other small beans)
1/2 cup quinoa
4 sundried tomatoes or peppers
2 cups canned or fresh tomatoes
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
2 oz finely cut canadian bacon (Bulgarian Филе Елена is wonderful here)

Over medium heat, in a smaller pot, mix the tomatoes, beans, dried vegetables, quinoa and bay leaves and cover to simmer for 15 minutes. Depending on how liquid your tomatoes are, you may need to add 1/2 cup water. You can take the beans and seeds off the heat to cool off and then add the olive oil. This will preserve it's amazing fats! Shortly after taking the dish off the heat, prepare a flat skillet and cook Canadian bacon on both sides or until slightly crispy and brown. Serve over the beans and quinoa and enjoy!