In my last blog I wrote about how we only eat animal protein 3x a week. This is due to several facts, but the main one being that animal proteins take longer to digest then plant based. I am currently on a journey to better health and am in the process of losing weight.With that fact in mind I need everything I eat to burn quickly so my body is a constant fat burning machine. If I was to eat animal protein more often ,it would slow my 'Burn" down and that is not something I am willing to do. Plant based proteins are used immediately which gives me the added bonus of ready to use vitamins and minerals.It is a win win situation for me.
Because this is the way we eat I get asked a lot of different questions about beans so let me answer few.
1) Which is best..canned or dried? In my opinion dried is the best. You have no chemicals added to them like extra salts. In a pinch canned beans are fine just be sure to rinse them very well before you use them.
2) How do you cook dried beans? I have a simple method for this one..It is called a crock pot.. I rinse my beans,throw them in the crock pot with 2x as much water then beans, and cook them on low overnight. Then I drain and cool them. I bag them up in 2 cup portions and freeze them,thus eliminating the need to ever buy canned beans. They unthaw very well and are much cheaper then buying a bunch of canned ones.
3) What about the gas issue? Lots of ventilation is the answer to that one. Your body will build up the enzymes it needs to digest beans but it will take a few weeks.
4) How do you know which beans are best? I have a system that I use based on trial and error which tells me which beans work best for different meals.
White beans: Great for mild tasting herbs like thyme,basil,rosemary,sage.
Black beans: Excellent for strong spices like chili powder,cumin,and anything Mexican.
Red beans: Great for saucy dishes like chili.
Lentils: Need a strong flavor to accompany them. Good in salads or even a stew.
Chick peas: Great in hummus or even in salads. Have a great texture and flavor of there own.Don't need much spice.
Beans are so versatile and so good for you ,and an added bonus that they are easy on the budget. There are a lot of really good recipes out there if you just look a little bit. Make it a goal to try a new bean dish once a week. They are such a forgiving food that they have easily become one of my favorite to experiment with. At the moment I am perfecting a white beans sauce that I use in place of Alfredo . It is still a work in progress but each attempt has turned out amazing. I will post the recipe with pics when I have perfected it so stay tuned..
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