Beans & Legumes...how do you prepare yours??

I keep reading how beans are a "dieter's friend"...I don't really consider myself a bean person and aside from baked beans I don't think I have ever even eaten any beans in my life..sad I know..lol What I want are some ideas on how to incorporate beans into my daily diet...I am big on taste so for me to eat it..day to day...it's gotta taste good. So how do you guys prepare your beans, what kinds, what do you mix them with...etc. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks everyone!

Fri. Oct 3, 1:06pm

Bean burritos! (using black beans or kidney beans)

My boyfriend make an awesome one where he takes a can of kidney beans, mashes them with a potato masher, and heats them up in a pot with a small package of firm or medium tofu, some corn niblets, some salsa, chopped onion, and cheddar cheese. We wrap all this up in a (whole wheat) flour tortilla then top it with romaine lettuce, chopped tomato, a bit more cheese and salsa. So yummy!

Christine

Friday, October 03, 2008, 1:30 PM

oh that sounds really good..never had tofu, but there's a first time for everything! :o) Thanks for the idea!

Friday, October 03, 2008, 1:36 PM

Hummus with whole wheat tortilla is good.
Mix different types of beans with your salad.

Go to a cooking websites and look for recipes with beans as ingredients. A couple of good websites are
www.myrecipes.com
www.receipezaar.com

Friday, October 03, 2008, 1:45 PM

Vegetarian Chili

I love this easy to make vegetarian chili -

1 medium onion, diced
1 bell pepper, red or green, diced
2 or more cloves garlic, diced
1 T Cajun seasoning
1 can 28 oz diced tomatoes (I like fire-roasted, but not necessary)
1 can 14 oz diced tomatoes
1 can 14 oz garbanzo beans
1 can 14 oz kidney beans
1 can 14 oz black beans

Saute onion and bell pepper till soft in a large stock pot. Add garlic to taste and Cajun seasoning. (I would be familiar with your seasoning before you add this much - some are really hot! You can add chili powder instead, or try another spicy mix) Saute until aromatic. Add cans (drain beans first) and simmer 15 minutes. You don't need to cook it longer, but it will taste better if you make it ahead, so flavors can blend. Adjust it for seasonings.

Freezes very well.

You can also stretch the portion sizes without many more calories by adding more vegetables, like another bell pepper (39 cal per cup), celery (14 cal per cup) or corn (230 cal for a 10 oz frozen package, or 23 calories a serving, 1/4 c) or zucchini (18 cal per cup.) Or add more tomatoes (30 calories per 1/2 cup)

You can use any beans you like, but this combination is pretty with the different shapes and colors.

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 262 g (1 1/8 c)
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 444
Calories from Fat: 33% Daily Value*
Total Fat: 3.7g 6%
Cholesterol: 0mg 0%
Sodium 38mg 2%
Total Carbohydrates: 79.8g 27%
Dietary Fiber: 20.9g 83%
Sugars: 10.0g
Protein: 26.5g
Vitamin A 28% • Vitamin C 58%
Calcium 14% • Iron 42%
Nutrition Grade A
* Based on a 2000 calorie diet

Friday, October 03, 2008, 2:21 PM

Ok so I am new to this whole watching the calories thing, and to me 444 calories per serving seems like a lot...is it really? Or is this suitable for one meal to be that much? I don't even know how many calories each meal should contain?! The recipe sounds great I will most likely give it a try with my family. Thanks! :o)

Friday, October 03, 2008, 2:26 PM

If each meal contained 450 calories, and you ate three meals a day, you would eat 1350 calories. Which is low enough that you probably ought to throw in a snack, especially if you are also working out or being active!

I love ham and bean soup...tomato lentil soup...split pea soup...I throw lentils or garbanzos in chicken soup and black beans into minestrone. The burrito recipe above sounds great--I'm not a tofu eater, but Iit would be good without the tofu, too.

My friend makes a salsa with black beans, blackeyed peas, cilantro, corn, and...something else, tossed with just a bit of reduced-fat Italian dressing. It'e healthy except that it's so addicting...you eat too much of it!

You can throw a few beans into any vegetable soup to give it staying power and protein, and if you want thick soup, puree beans into the broth.

Friday, October 03, 2008, 3:43 PM

a few websites to check out

Here are some links to my favorite bean recipes. Being vegan, I prepare and eat beans almost every day. I love white beans because they are super mild, creamy and can be pureed to make most anything from salad dressings to soups taste wonderful. Black beans are equally good and versatile. Finally, chickpeas/garbanzo beans are a must --- you can whiz up a hummus in under a minute or make amazing bean burgers or fab indian dishes. Those are the three beans that I always have on hand, both dried and canned. My family loves beans in soups, stews, dips, dressings, on salads, made into burgers/patties, sloppy joe style, etc. (I am the only full time veg in the house, so beans can be loved by veg and non veg alike! And they are really filling, nutrient dense and very good for you!)

http://www.fatfree.com/recipes/beans/
my favorite from this site is the tuscan white bean/white bean with sage recipe

http://www.savvyvegetarian.com/vegetarian-recipes/bean-recipes.php

http://www.fatfreevegan.com/beans/beans.shtml
Zingy Bean Dip is incredible -- my kids love it too. It's great with blue corn chips.
Black-eyed Pea-Sweet Potato Masala is another one of my favorites from this list, but everything I've made from fat free vegan has been good.

For bean dishes with international flair, search "bean" on this page:
http://www.ivu.org/recipes/

Have fun experimenting!
Sarah_L

Friday, October 03, 2008, 4:42 PM

Yummy Ancho Lentil Soup with Grilled Pineapple

I made this recently and it is ever so yummy.
http://www.theppk.com/recipes/dbrecipes/index.php?RecipeID=446

I had ancho chili powder on hand so I used that instead of the peppers, and also subbed in ground cumin for cumin seeds.

Friday, October 03, 2008, 4:44 PM

All great ideas and information.I can't wait to try some of them out..thank so much!

Friday, October 03, 2008, 5:12 PM

Last night I put black beans on a sweet potato w/ russian yogurt - very yummy and much healther than a regular loaded baked potato!

Friday, October 03, 2008, 5:35 PM

another thing I do when I make vegetarian chili is to put in lots of cubes of zucchini and/or eggplant. in place of meat and add the beans.... they get really soft and taste great.. plus give you all the benefits of veggies

Saturday, October 04, 2008, 3:25 AM

Lentil soup, bean soup, minestrone soup with lots of beans, humus, chili -- either vegetarian (only LOTS of beans) or with meat and LOTS of beans are some of the ways I eat beans + other legumes. Also you can make bean or lentil or black eyed pea salad w. a vinaigrette dressing and other salad veggies and it's great.

Good luck.

Saturday, October 04, 2008, 8:44 AM

4-BEAN CHILI SOUP

4-BEAN CHILI SOUP

INGREDIENTS
6 cups belended-soaked beans:
Frijoles Rojas
Frijoles Negroes
White Lima
Garbanzo
..............................
14 Beef Bouillon Cubes

12 Cups Water

2 Cups Tomato Basil Marinara Sauce

1 Tbsp. Chili Powder

1/2 Tbsp. Cumin

Salt/Pepper-after cooking for 1 hour
In a stock pot (soup pot)-water-cubes

I- DIRECTIONS-14 CUP OR LARGER-SOUP POT(CROCK POT)
Bring to rolling boil-12 Cups water / 6 cups soaked beans
Continue boiling on lowered heat for 2 hours
Add remaining ingredients-simmer until ready to serve

II-DIRECTIONS
Bring to rolling boil-12 Cups water / 6 cups soaked beans

Reduce heat to simmer

Add Tomato-Basil Marinara Sauce

Add Chili Powder and Cumin

Add salt and pepper after simmering.

Stir for 3 minutes-aroma indicates well blended

Return to low boil for 2 hours
.............................................................................................

Serve with salad, baked or mashed potatoes, hominy grits side dish, lean meat

Saturday, July 06, 2013, 10:11 AM

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