Today's Recipe - Quick Black Bean Chili

Today's Recipe
If you don't know what to serve for dinner tonight ...
Chili is enjoyed even during the summer months, and this rich, hearty and flavorful version can be prepared in less than 30 minutes!
Quick Black Bean Chili
Prep and Cook Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
• 2 cups or 1 15 oz can (BPA-free) black beans
• 1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
• 1 TBS chili powder
• 1/2 cup cilantro

Directions:

1. Chop onions and mince or press garlic and let sit for at least 5 minutes to enhance their health-promoting properties.
2. Place all ingredients—except cilantro—in a pot, cover, and let simmer for about 20 minutes.
3. Top with cilantro and serve.

Serves 2 From page 613 of The World's Healthiest Foods book.
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In-Depth Nutritional Profile for Quick Black Bean Chili
Healthy Food Tip

Does the high heat involved in canning destroy the beneficial enzymes in pineapple? If so, is canned pineapple still considered a World's Healthiest Food?

This is a great question since it is brings up the definition of a healthy food in general as compared more specifically to a World's Healthiest Food.
It is true that the canning process does destroy the activity of the bromelain enzyme found in fresh pineapple and reduces the content of other nutrients as well. The nutrient loss that occurs with canning is why I prefer fresh fruit to canned fruit.
Fresh fruit—compared to canned fruit—is more of a whole food if we include as part of the definition of a whole food one that has the least amount of processing. It is rare that no processing would occur to a food; you could even say that the very act of picking the pineapple is actually processing and takes away from its wholeness (but that's a whole other philosophical conversation).
But should the loss of some nutrients disqualify the canned pineapple from being a World's Healthiest Food? I don't think so.
If I apply the standard that processing affects the nutrient content of a food and therefore disqualifies it, then I would have to apply that to all of the World's Healthiest Foods and object to cooking, even light cooking of vegetables, which I think is appropriate.
Canned pineapple is still rich in nutrients, and I would rather see people eat canned pineapple than not enjoy this food at all. In my view, choosing canned pineapple that is organic and not packed with sugar water would also make it closer to a whole food.