News and Notes from The Johnson Center
Family and Food: Beans
JCCHD | Thu, August 23, 2012 | [Family and Food]
Beans come in many varieties and shapes - over 4,000, in fact. Over many generations, different varieties have evolved and continue to evolve.
Beans are not only good sources of fiber, protein, and beneficial carbohydrates, they also contain significant amounts of folic acid and thiamin. Adding beans to a meal can help lower the glycemic index of the meal, resulting in a more gradual rise and fall in blood sugar (gradual is healthier). Participants of a study in Australia reported that supplementing their diet with chickpeas or garbanzo beans helped them feel full, and also improved bowel function (issues with digestibility and preparation reportedly discouraged regular intake of beans, but there are methods to make beans more easily tolerated and digested—soaking dried beans overnight or for several hours prior to cooking, cooking them thoroughly, chewing them well, or even adding a digestive enzyme immediately before consumption can all help reduce issues with digestion).
When purchasing beans, it is important to consider quality. They are generally available dried or canned; studies indicate that canned beans contain significantly less nutrition when compared to dried. The US Department of Agriculture compared canned chickpeas to dried. The dried version contained almost 20 calories less than the canned version after preparation, and they also had almost 3 more grams of protein and more than twice as much iron—and more magnesium as well. Not only are dried beans more nutritious than canned, they are also less expensive, and a higher quality option due to the potential leaching of BPA’s and other chemicals from the canning process.
Try these recipes to add more beans into your snacks and meals:
White Bean Dip
Recipe by Giada De Laurentiis
Ingredients:
15 ounces cannellini beans, prepared
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
⅓ cup olive oil, plus 4 tablespoons
¼ cup (loosely packed) fresh Italian parsley leaves
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Place the beans, garlic, lemon juice, ⅓ cup olive oil, and parsley in the work bowl of a food processor.
3. Pulse until the mixture is coarsely chopped.
4. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
5. Transfer the bean puree to a small bowl.
6. Sprinkle with the oregano, salt, and pepper.
7. Bake for 8 to 12 minutes, or until toasted and golden in color.
Three Bean Salad
Ingredients:
15 ounces cannellini beans, prepared
15 ounces kidney beans, prepared
15 ounces garbanzo beans, prepared
2 celery stalks, chopped fine
½ red onion, chopped fine
1 cup fresh, finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 Tbsp fresh finely chopped rosemary
⅓ cup apple cider vinegar
⅓ cup granulated sugar or honey
¼ cup olive oil
1 ½ teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
Directions:
1. In a large bowl, mix the beans, celery, onion, parsley and rosemary.
2. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, sugar, olive oil, salt, and pepper.
3. Add the dressing to the beans.
4. Toss to coat.
5. Chill beans in the refrigerator for several hours, to allow the beans to soak up the flavor of the dressing.
http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/three_bean_salad/
Marble Cake
NOTE: This will make 2 square cakes
First, make the chocolate layer—
Chocolate Bean Cake:
Ingredients:
Add to food processor:
2 cups cooked white beans, room temperature, so they don’t cook the eggs (soak dry white beans overnight. In the morning, rinse them well, and cook them.)
6 eggs
¾ tsp vanilla liquid stevia or chocolate raspberry liquid stevia (do not measure over the batter, just in case it spills out)
1 tsp vanilla extract
⅓ cup honey
Puree well.
Then add:
¼ cup coconut oil, liquefied
½ cup cocoa powder
½ tsp sea salt
1 tsp baking soda
1½ tsp baking powder (Grain-free Baking Powder Recipe, below)
Puree well.
Directions:
1. Divide into two square (greased & floured) dishes.
2. Rinse the food processor and repeat the recipe, but substitute ⅓ cup coconut flour in place of the cocoa powder.
3. Pour half of the Vanilla Bean Cake on top of each chocolate layer.
4. Swirl the layers, and lift some of the chocolate layer up with a fork.
5. Sprinkle with dairy-free chocolate chips
6. Bake the two cakes at 325 degrees for about 32 minutes.
Corn-free (grain-free) Baking Powder:
1 part baking soda
2 parts cream of tartar
2 parts starch
http://www.thespunkycoconut.com/2010/01/how-to-make-your-own-grain-free-corn.html
Additional references:
Chickpea supplementation in an Australian diet affects food choice, satiety and bowel health. Murty CM, Pittaway JK, Ball MJ. School of Human Life Sciences, Locked Bag 1320, University of Tasmania, Launceston, Tasmania 7250, Australia. PMID: 19945492
http://www.motherearthnews.com/grow-it/history-of-beans-zb0z11zsch.aspx
Nutritional Comparison: U.S. Department of Agriculture Standard Reference Database (SR21 version)
