Bean Recipes, Tips and More

We love beans.

Limas, lentils, kidneys, black beans...you name it.

We love them for the way they taste, how versatile and nutritious they are, and for how beans can help save money in your whole foods budget.

I consider bean cookery to be one of my specialties.

We were pretty much vegetarians for awhile, for several reasons, and during that time I cooked beans for pretty much every meal of the day.

So I've built up a good repertoire of bean dishes, and even consider beans to be kind of a comfort food now.

I know--I'm sort of an odd bird that way.

If you're not "comfy" with beans, I hope you will be moreso after reading about all that they have to offer.

Beans are a great source of nutrition

1. High in fiber

You get about 8 grams of fiber in a 1/2 cup serving of cooked beans.

2. High in Protein

All beans have a decent amount of protein, and I've read that there's about 18 grams of protein in one cup of cooked lentils. That's a ton!

3. Low in Calories

I'm not into calorie counting, but it is important not to indulge in tons of calorie-heavy foods all day long.

4. Filling

Between the fiber and the protein, beans tend to help keep your appetite satisfied for a long time.

Beans--the Great Budget Food

Beans can really help you save. A lot. Canned beans are already a great way to stretch your budget, but dried beans save much, much more.

1. One pound of beans yields about 9 cups of cooked beans, and compared to buying animal proteins, beans cost very little per pound. I think animal proteins are important for complete nutrition, but when you need to cut costs, beans are a great way to do it.

2. Substituting beans for meat

Typically, I substitute 1 cup dried beans for 1 pound of beef or chicken.

If you want to really save a lot, make an entire meal out of beans. Or, you can just sub beans for part of the meat in your dish to stretch your dollars a little further.

I think lentils, pintos and black beans are the best meat substitutes, but really, any beans can work.