Andy Knows Beans
2 September 2005If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
This article by Ker-plunk is too good to pass up; a man after my own culinary heart
Andy Knows Beans
by Andy Plunk
I like beans. A lot. Black beans and chickpeas are at the top of the list of my favorite foods, both nutritionally and for taste. Every few weeks I make a special trip to the only grocery store in town that sells the no salt added variety of canned black beans I like and ignore the comments of the clerk when I pay for the twenty cans that constitute a months supply. She can laugh at me if she wants toIll rest easy knowing Im eating well.
Its hard not to be impressed with the nutritional profile of beans. For the black beans I usually eat (I just happened to have a few cans in my cupboard) there are 110 calories and seven grams each of protein and fiber per cup serving. Going beyond the label, the carbohydrates in beans are mostly of the complex variety with a very low glycemic index. Pair that with all the fiber and you have a food that will actually make you feel full when you eat it. Beans are also an excellent source of folate, which is important for heart health, protecting against some cancers and for pregnant women. There are also decent levels of calcium, potassium and iron.
Beans are my ultimate comfort food. I like them cooked almost any way, but they are best when mashed. Basically Im talking about bean dip, but it can run the gamut from Mexican style black beans to chickpea hummus. Theyre also remarkably easy to prepare. Note Ill talk about canned beans because I dont have the patience for the dried variety (if you do, by all means, use them). Remember, if you opt out of buying the no salt added type you will need to add less (or none at all) salt later. The beans themselves will have quite a bit of sodium already (read the label!).
I like to cook, but Im not very big on recipes. Im more of a touch and go type cook, and think that a few key concepts will help you more than memorizing a list of ingredients and preparation instructions. The most important thing about beans is that they will take on almost any flavor you give them. Some people come down on beans as bland and boring, but I think thats just the beans versatility shining through. Beans are very adaptable and can serve as the base in a variety of dishes. Play around with them. Cans of beans turn up in the oddest places in my cooking. But back to the bean dip
Put a non-stick fry pan on medium heat and add about a tablespoon of olive oil. You dont need enough to fry the beans, if youre using canned you basically just need to heat them through, I just like the texture the oil gives. Drain most of the liquid from a can or two of beans and dump them in. Let the beans heat through and then go at them vigorously with a potato masher (I break one every year or so). At this point you have some barely edible mashed beans, ready to be flavored. I prefer to use salsa and plain non-fat yogurt, which I try to always have in the fridge. Sometimes Ill throw in a little shredded cheese if I have any on hand. I add the salsa first for flavor and then the yogurt until I get the consistency I like, usually about a cup to a cup and a half each for two cans worth of beans. This gives a very creamy texture that is still thick enough for dipping, for which I usually use sliced up cucumbers and green peppers. Ill also sometimes use the mixture as a dressing for salad. From start to finish you can have this ready to go in 10 minutes. Its really hard for me to imagine something better to eat while watching a football game on a Saturday afternoon (and yes, I can and will consume two cans worth of beans at one sitting).
Try making hummus if you want to be more exotic. I think a lot of people assume it is hard to make since they arent as familiar with it, but hummus is deceptively easy to prepare. Traditional hummus calls for tahini, which is a paste made from sesame seeds, but if your supermarket doesnt carry any you can just as easily use creamy peanut butter (Smuckers Natural is my current favorite). A food processor makes the job easier because you want a very smooth texture, but you could break out the potato masher again if you had no other option. Basically throw a drained can of chickpeas, 3 or 4 cloves of garlic, the juice of half a lemon, 3 tablespoons tahini (or creamy peanut butter) and a tablespoon of olive oil in your food processor and blend until very smooth. Add a little water if you want it thinner. Wedges of pita bread are good with this, but Ill also use it as a dip for vegetables and as a spread for sandwiches, too. Feel free to play around with the basic recipe. You can try adding olives, vary the amount of tahini or lemon juice, or even add some cayenne if you like it hot.
No discussion about beans would be complete without mentioning their sometimes embarrassing side effects. I personally dont experience extra gas when I eat them, but I know some people are affected this way. The culprits are sugar molecules that our bodies have trouble digesting completely, but are a good source of food for all sorts of friendly bacteria that live down in the colon. The byproduct of these bacteria breaking down the rest of the sugar for us is gas. If beans are a problem, a product like Beano will help by providing your body the enzyme necessary for complete digestion of these sugars before they reach the colon. You might also want to gradually work foods like beans into your diet, especially if you dont already get a lot of fiber. Theyll be more likely to come back and haunt you later if you dont eat them on a regular basis (which, as far as Im concerned, is one more reason to eat them all the time).
Now, you wont find food like this in an expensive restaurant (well, maybe the hummus, but certainly not the black bean dip), but this is food that is good for you and can be made in almost no time. Having access to easy to make, nutritious food is important to fall back on when life takes over and theres a time crunch (or if the game starts in 5 minutes and you want to hurry up and get in front of the television), and these dips are a couple of my staples even if they arent high cuisine.
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