Carrie On Vegan

In the words of Dr. F(uhrman), “beans are a dieter’s best friend.” The reason being that beans have so much nutrition for so few calories. Check this out: one-half cup of cooked beans provides roughly 120 calories, 7 grams of fiber and 7 grams of protein. Research now shows that beans are also very high in something called resistant starch which means that your body absorbs even fewer of the calories with the same nutritional benefits.

And, beans are cheap! Whenever I’ve done food budgets for classroom projects or for myself, beans always show up on the list. The cheapest and most delicious way to prepare beans are to cook them yourself. However, canned beans are a great option when you need them fast (I choose Eden Organic brand canned beans because the cans are free of BPA; I buy them here).

Whenever I see locally-grown beans at my farmers’ market, I buy them in bulk because they are often heirloom varieties and are so, so fresh. I cooked these black beans earlier this week for a black bean soup. The beans were so big after soaking them that they looked like blueberries! Note: I also buy beans in the regular grocery store, they are excellent, too.

Cooking beans could not be easier. The key is that you need to plan ahead. Here’s how you do it.

1. Rinse your dried beans to get rid of any dust or dirt.

2. Place rinsed beans in a large bowl and cover with water plus extra. Some beans expand twice their size!

3. Let the beans sit overnight or at least 10-12 hours.

4. Rinse the beans again.

5. Place beans in a large pot and cover with fresh water plus about 2 inches.

6. Heat to boiling and then lower heat and simmer for 45-90 minutes or until the beans are softened. Skim off any foam that forms and discard it (don’t skip this step!).

7. At this point, I often put my beans in glass containers and freeze them or put them in the fridge until I need them.

So one of my husband’s best friends from college moved next door to us this week. That’s right, his buddy moved right next door (kinda cute, don’t you think?). I’m happy because now it means Alan has someone to play with (ha!). I decided to make dinner for his friend and significant other with a giant pot o’ soup and another version of my pumpkin pie. These people are by no means vegan or into healthy eating, but they really liked the food and I even sent them home with leftovers. These are also the same people who have gone to Native Foods with us and loved it!

I made the bean soup using those black beans I cooked above. To made the soup, I just chopped up a bunch of vegetables, water-sauteed them:

Added the beans with some water and a bay leaf (also added chili powder, cumin and paprika):

I let the pot simmer for 20 minutes or so and then used a hand-immersion blender briefly just to get a nicer texture:

 I served the soup with my vegan pumpkin pie (I’m STILL working on the recipe, not quite perfect yet) and everyone was happy!

On a separate note, I recently met up with a blogger friend which ended up being such a fun experience! Ginny and I have been commenting on each other’s blogs for probably about 2 years now and meeting her in person was like catching up with an old friend. The coolest part is that Ginny just announced yesterday that she’s gone vegan! Ginny is doing such a service for herself and her family by focusing on whole, plant-based foods and she inspires me as much as (she says) I inspire her. Here’s a picture of the two of us:

Are you as crazy for beans as I am? What’s your fave way to use them? 

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