“Beans, beans, the musical fruit, the more you eat…” Well, you know the rest! Or, perhaps, beans remind you of that hilarious campfire scene from the movie “Blazing Saddles”.
But let’s start with the good stuff about beans. They are very healthy and a good source of protein, making them a great substitute for animal protein in your diet. Because of their fiber content, beans keep the G.I. tract functioning well and, by acting as a “pre-biotic”, help the intestines develop a healthy bacterial flora. They are a nutritious and easily mashed early food for babies. It is thought that the real importance of the Mediterranean Diet lies not in the olive oil used (which is high in calories and low in nutrition) but in the high intake of beans and vegetables, which results in a high fiber intake that lowers cholesterol and reduces cardiovascular risk factors. Studies show that people with high bean intake have a lower incidence of diabetes. The glycemic index, a comparative measure of how high and how fast a food raises blood glucose levels, is fairly low for beans, making them a good food for diabetics, also.
Now, there are a variety of ways that the gas-causing aspects of beans can be reduced:
1) Using canned beans, well rinsed with water to reduce the salt, because they are pre-cooked.
2) Introducing beans into your diet slowly, with regular small servings, and slowly increasing the serving sizes.
3) Your choice of bean can make a difference. Lentils are easily cooked, require no pre-soaking, and cause less gas than other beans.
4) Soaking dried beans for 12 to 24 hours and changing the soaking water a few times before cooking seems to reduce the gas-causing qualities.
5) Cooking the beans until soft and being sure to chew the beans well decreases the gas they cause.
There are many ways to add beans to your daily meals. At my house, we often add a few handfuls of beans to our salads. Beans themselves make wonderful salads. My favorite beans to use in salads are black beans, garbanzos, and lentils. However, there are also some very nice salad recipes using white beans. Beans can also be substituted for meat in some of your favorite recipes, for example, curries or bean chili.
So, happy eating, good health, and have fun incorporating nutritious beans into your diet! Click here for a yummy bean recipe to try.
Red Beans and Rice
Ingredients
- 1 pound of small red beans
- 4 cups broth - I use vegetable bouillon
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 14 ½ oz can diced tomatoes with juice
- 1 4 oz jar diced pimientos drained
- 1 large green pepper chopped
- 1 ½ cups chopped celery
- 1 4 oz can diced green chilies
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
- ¼ cup snipped parsley
- ¼ - ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes If you like it spicy, add more
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ - ½ teaspoon hot pepper sauce Again, if you like it spicy add more
- Sometimes I sprinkle just a little bit of cayenne into it.
Instructions
- Prepare the beans by either soaking in water overnight or covering them with water, boiling them for two minutes, then covering and letting them stand in the hot water for 1 hour.
- Drain and rinse the beans. Place them in a Dutch oven with broth, garlic, onion, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then simmer covered for 1 ¼ hours.
- Stir in the remaining ingredients, add water if needed to have liquid cover the beans, cover, and simmer for 1 hour until tender and gravy thickened. Serve over cooked brown rice.
- If you like onions you can add some freshly chopped onions on top and sprinkle with more snipped parsley - looks pretty, too!
