The basic dried bean is now a star on restaurant menus. You can feel good about ordering them or featuring them on your table because beans are a nutritional gold mine.
– High in fiber. One-half cup of cooked beans contains 4 grams or more of dietary fiber. Soluble fiber, the kind in beans, may help lower your blood cholesterol level.
– High in protein. One cup of cooked beans supplies about 15 grams of protein, the same amount of protein found in 2 ounces of cooked sirloin steak. However, the incomplete protein in beans must be supplemented by serving with a grain, meat, eggs, cheese or nuts.
– High in vitamins and minerals. Beans are a good source of calcium, magnesium, zinc, niacin, thiamine, riboflavin and iron.
– Low in fat. Only about 4 percent of bean calories come from fat, very low compared with other protein sources.
– No cholesterol. Like all fruits and vegetables, beans have no cholesterol.
Beans vary more in appearance than in taste. You can use cooked or canned beans interchangeably in most recipes.
– Toss chilled cooked beans into pasta salads, tossed green salads or marinated vegetable salads.
– In casseroles, substitute an equal amount of beans for the rice, potatoes or pasta specified.
– Combine lima beans with a cheese sauce and bake for a meatless main dish.
– Stir red kidney beans into cooked rice that`s been seasoned with chili powder for a Tex-Mex side dish.
– Two ways to soak beans: (1) In large kettle combine beans and enough water to cover, about 2 to 3 cups water per 1 cup beans. Bring to boil; reduce heat. Simmer 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Cover and let stand 1 hour. (2) Soak beans in water overnight in a covered pan.
– One pound dry beans equals 2 1/2 cups. One pound dry beans equals 6 cups cooked beans. One 15-ounce can beans, drained, equals 3/4 cups.
– To reduce flatulence (gas) that may be a side effect of eating beans, always discard the soaking liquid and cook the beans in fresh water.
– For convenience, cook up a big batch of beans, cover and chill up to 4 days or freeze up to 6 months.
– Simmer beans slowly. Cooking them too fast will cause the skins to break.
– Acid slows down the cooking process. Add acid foods such as tomatoes and vinegar at the end of the cooking period.
– To shorten the cooking time when using hard water, add 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon baking soda per pound of beans. –
