This is my second post in the A-Z blogging challenge and since I am blogging the letter B, I thought I would blog about one of my favorite foods. There must have been something to the story of the magic beans in Jack and the Beanstalk , because there is something so powerful and magical about the elusive bean. Packed with fiber, antioxidants and phytochemicals bean and legumes are on the top ten for almost any ‘Power Foods List’. They are also high in protein which makes them a desirable food group for vegetarians. Not to mention, they are Low Glycemic Index( GI) which means they keep blood sugar levels steady, making them a diabetic’s best friend. Good for all of us really! Well since this is a short and sweet post, am going to get to the point and share with you some of my tried and tested ways to eat more beans 🙂
Beany Tips
Very important : To get rid of the gassy bloated feeling you have when you eat beans, rinse the beans thoroughly at-least 3 times to get rid of all gas-producing substances. This is especially true for canned beans. Rinse Rinse Rinse !!!
Soak dry bean for a few hours to lessen cooking time. Pressure cooking dry beans is also an effective way to cook dry beans quickly.
Cook dry beans with asafeotida to tenderize and improve the digestibility of the bean which in turn will produce less gas. Asafeotida is available in Asian and Indian grocery stores. A pinch is all you need to tenderize the bean.
Dont salt your beans untill after they are cooked. This will lessen cook time and improve digestibility of beans.
Tips to get more beans in your diet
Make at-least one day a meatless day and make legumes the main meat for that meal. I have a delish recipe for a spinach lentil soup ( pictured above ) that is a favorite in my home. Be creative and come up with lentil dishes that your family will enjoy
Add rinsed, canned beans to salads, veggie dishes, stir fry, meats and soups. They will add some zest and texture to the dish.
Blend canned beans and add to soups, sauces, baked goods . They will just blend in. The trick is to use a little at a time so it does not change the taste of the dish.
Make humus with chick peas and serve as dip with veggies or chips. Make other bean dips or incorporate some beans into salsa and other dips. I have a great recipe for black bean and corn salsa which gets demolished in seconds.
Make soup or chilli often. Easy one pot dish packed with fiber and protein.
Sprout beans to get increase their nutitional value and turn them into a supercharged food. Check out this cool video to sprout beans in a jar.
Roasted dry beans and lentils make a great snack. You can find them in health food stores. Roasted soy beans are one of my favorite snacks !
If you have any tips on using beans in your diet, do share! Hope this post inspires you to eat more beans !!
If you want to visit some other blogs participating in the A-Z Blogging Challenge, click the button below !! Visit my blog tomorrow to check out my C post 🙂
Hi there! I’m Sunithi, AKA Sue, a registered dietitian with a sweet tooth and a passion for eating healthy (quite a combo) currently working as an independent consultant in the DC Metro area. I’m also a blogger, health nut, nutrition geek who jogs to keep sane :)! I love to revamp recipes and add some ‘Nutrition Bytes’ to them. All my recipes are gluten free! I also blog on natural health and fitness! Visit often and drop me a note if you have any nutrition queries!
We love beans! My favorite is a three bean salad I make that my 4 year old just gobbles up.
Great ! Introduce them to kids young and they will love them for life ! I must check out your three bean salad. Will check your blog for the recipe this eve ! Thanks for visiting Alex 🙂
Hi, there! Stopping by from A to Z. I luuuuv beans! And, I'm not good about rinsing, so I appreciate that advice! Can't wait to try that soup!!
Amy
fromthemomcave.blogspot.com
Thanks for stopping by ! Let me know how the soup comes out. Will stop by your blog in the eve & check out your B 🙂
Cool! Love beans and will try that spinach lentil soup I think . Looks Delish !! Maybe you can just make me some 🙂
Hi! I found you through the A to Z Challenge, and Im really glad I did! I am a nutrition nut, although my thoughts on the subject tend to be outside the current mainstream philosophy. We eat lots of beans in our family. One thing we do is replace the beef in tacos with cooked, slightly smashed lentils. It may send weird, but it is super yummy!
Well, I'm excited to see what you'll post the rest of the month! Oh, you might be interested in the contest I have going at my blog to win a copy of The Future of Food on DVD. It's on My Coffee in the Garden blog- just scroll down until you see the post on the contest!
Take care!
Christine@
Coffee in the Garden
In the Care of the Great Physician
Thanks for the tips! I'll look for asafoetida since I've been cooking dried beans lately.
wow very nice post for get the right nutrition and vitamins .
i like the concept of this post.
ll see much better results with this diet plan than you would with others that
use some generic formula to calculate your nutrient needs.
Except this is exactly what does happen, frequently in badly considered build muscle strategies.
Then opt for ones cheapest way to help you feed those guns while using the Egg White peptids.
I think that what you posted made a bunch of sense.
But, think about this, what if you were to create a awesome title?
I am not suggesting your information isn’t solid, but what if you added a
title that grabbed a person’s attention? I mean Beans :
A Superfood & Easy Ways To Use them In Your Diet !
– Sue’s Nutrition Buzz is kinda plain. You might peek at
Yahoo’s front page and note how they create article
titles to grab viewers interested. You might
add a video or a picture or two to get readers interested about everything’ve written.
Just my opinion, it would bring your website a little livelier.