Beans!

Charlie_Hooper

I read everywhere how beans are a good food to eat, as theyre a good, filling meal with high protein.

My question is, (and excuse me if I'm being really stupid here).. what beans, and how should I eat them?!

I mean, with baked beans it's obvious, they're already in sauce etc, just cook em up and eat them! But I highly doubt these are what people have in mind when they're suggested relatively healthy foods --- which bean types do you suggest, and how do you cook/prepare them etc?

tanniew78

Any bean. If you dont like so much "beany" taste and want to start trying anyways, great northern or navy beans are good to start with. They really take on the flavor of whatever you cook them in. Usually you soak them 8 hours or so (overnight) and then drain them. Make sure to pick thru them to get the few bad ones out. Then just throw them in a pot with some stock and cook for an hour or so. I love making ham and beans with these and its so simple. There are TONS of recipes online for beans.

anifani4

Most people have a preference for the flavor and texture of one bean over another. The only way to discover for yourself is to try them. My favorite way to eat them is in vegetable soup. Mostly I used canned beans which are already cooked. But I have bought them in bulk and cooked them myself. Lots of directions on line for that. Or any basic cookbook will have them too.

laserturkey

Crockpot "refried" beans: Put 1 lb. dry pinto beans, 1 chopped onion, 1 T. minced garlic, 1-2 t. salt, and 1/2 t. cumin in a crockpot with 9 cups of water. Cook on HIGH for about 8 hours, stirring occasionally. Mash with a potato masher or use a stick blender in them before eating. Makes a BIG batch of yummy beans you can then use as a dip, in tacos, on nachos, etc.

Chickpea flour (called besan in Indian stores) makes nice little pancakes by itself and adds protein when you mix it in with other flours. Try googling "socca" and you will likely come up with some recipes.

Black beans are great in chili and soups, too. I use allrecipes.com to look for recipes because I can search by ingredients.

socioseguro

Try this webpage.

http://www.passionforpulses.com/

It covers all beans plus other healthy legumes

Good luck in your journey

Strive2BLean

The beans that you are reading about are either the dried beans such as garbanzo also called chick peas, red kidney beans, navy beans, pink beans, black beans, lima beans, lentils: let see have I missed any, probably but these are the ones I know of. Any way, these beans are also sold precooked in cans for convenience. Just rinse well with water before eating to wash off some sodium. You can eat them as you like. I put them on salads, in chili, in whole wheat pasta or brown rice or quinoa in tuna salad, soups or I love them so much I can even out them right out of the can!

If you want to cook your own you have to soak overnight in water then cook (boil) for about an hour or more depending on the bean. I would avoid baked beans cause of all the sugar in the sauce.

gnalani

I love beans! So many great ways to use them. Here are my favorites

~ Crockpot chili! Billions of recipes out there

~ Black bean burgers: 1 can of black beans, 1 egg, 1/2c breadcrumbs (approx) 1/2c cooked quinoa, spices to taste. Mush the beans, combine the ingredients, and fry them up in a little olive oil.

~ Roasted chickpeas: combine 1-2 TB of garlic powder, chili powder, cumin, and olive oil each with 2-3 cans of chickpeas (garbanzo beans). Spread a layer in a pan and bake at 350 for 45 mins-ish, stirring every 10 mins or so. Adapted from the Gracious Pantry.

Charlie_Hooper

Thanks for all the ideas guys, will definitely try my hand at each!

phurst00

I always like to make black beans as I find they go great with any dish that has tomatoes - and when I say "go great with tomatoes" I mean that the tomato covers up a lot of that beany taste!

I also sometimes throw my cooked beans in a food processor or blender and add the resulting "sauce" into various dishes - you get enough beans to get the added fiber and whatnot, but you don't get a lot of the taste.

Of course, you have to be careful with sodium if you get canned beans! The dry black beans that I got recently had 25mg in the whole thing, compared to a good 500mg or so in a can of black beans.

eep223

I love black beans. One of my favorite ways to eat them is mixed in with scrambled eggs with some jalapenos, a little bit of cheese, and salsa on top.

Or I mush them up with oats, flour, chili powder, cumin, an egg, and diced onion and peppers and grill or fry them into a veggie burger patty.

phurst00

I love black beans. One of my favorite ways to eat them is mixed in with scrambled eggs with some jalapenos, a little bit of cheese, and salsa on top.

omg, thank you for reminding me, I haven't had that in ages! Now I wish I hadn't just finished making dinner so I could make that instead :P

angmarie28

Im vegetarian so I eat beans a lot, some of my favorites
-chickpea salad, like chicken or tuna salad (with mayo and mustard) but with mashed chickpeas
-black bean enchiladas or burritos
-roasted chickpeas
-potato and navy bean soup
-taco soup
-lentil sloppy joes (not beans but good for you)
and these have all been approved my meat eating family

spaghetti93

i buy them in bulk (sooooo much cheaper than canned) and cook a bunch up then freeze them. My favorite is black beans. I think they have the most fiber and antioxidants too. I just thaw them out and add them to dishes whenever i need them or eat them plain.

jakescastle88

I typically eat Black Beans, Pinto Beans, or Red Kidney Beans. When I get bored of any one kind, I mix all three together.

If you buy your beans canned, be sure to check the label on the can before you buy it. Most canned items, including beans, have added sodium for flavor. It can be upwards of 500mg per serving, which is obscene in my opinion.

Also, if you get bored of eating beans with rice, try it with quinoa, with pasta & sauce or pesto, and in home made chili.

According to evidence reported by anthro-scientists from the Blue Zones project, cultures that get the majority of their protein from beans and fish tend to live longer, healthier lives than cultures that get the majority of their protein from red meats. If you like red meat, try to eat it only every now and then. I used to eat red meat like 6 times a week, and since I've started eating more Beans and Greek Yogurt (also has a lot of protein if you buy Fage brand), I only eat it about twice a month (a steak about the size of a deck of cards).

My point is, beans are great, get used to eating lots of them!

Querian

I put black beans on my salad today with corn, brown rice and tomatoes over romaine. Yum! I also had a leftover black bean sweet potato burger for dinner.

Soups, salads, bean dip (including humus), homemade veggie burgers, chili, so many options!

And try lentils too, they rock!

liittlesparrow

I make bean burritos (black beans or kidney), put beans in taco salads (black or kidney, again), I put lentils in cabbage roll ups, but I cook them in vegetable broth with two tbsp soy sauce and 5 tsp cumin (delicious). There's all sorts of things you can do with beans!

kimmymayhall

I eat dried beans a lot. Garbanzo are my favorite, but I regularly have black beans, pinto, great northern, and red beans. I also really like black eyed peas but my BF doesn't as much.
It is better to soak dried beans overnight but we often forget so just throw the beans into a pot with water and bay, peppercorns, dried chiles, and garlic to boil for 60-90 minutes (it can take a little longer if you don't soak.)
I add beans to salads, make spreads, serve with veg and rice or a bit of meat, use as taco filling, add to soups and stews, and sometimes I do just eat them with a little bit of seasoning. I usually cook them plain so I can use them more ways but you can find a lot of recipes online for beans cooked into things like chili, southern red beans, bean soup, etc. A little bit of smoked meat or a bone can add a lot of flavor if you like.
Lentils are also great and only take about 30 minutes to cook.