Early on in this series, 52 ways to save money on a healthy diet, I shared an example of comparing a particular legume and nut-based meal to a meal based on grassfed meat where I was surprised to find that my grassfed meat meal was cheaper. The point of that illustration was to show that when you calculate the price of a meal, there could be surprises. However, it wasn’t meant as a derogatory remark towards legumes as they are an amazing tool in the frugal and nourishing cook arsenal. When you make beans from scratch they are very, very frugal.
Did you know that Katie Kimball’s excellent book on beans, The Everything Bean Book, is part of this amazing resource that is on sale for less than 24 hours more? If you like excellent recipes, ecourses, and even bonus gifts, make sure you check it out right away! It ends 12 Est/9 PST monday, the 14th of September.
I think that the reason we don’t enjoy beans more is because we may only know them in boring recipes. But let me tell you, beans are anything but boring when made the right way!
I know that my paleo friends here at The Nourishing Gourmet won’t be able to utilize this post for their own needs, however it is worth noting to my GAPS friends that both lentils and white navy beans are allowed on the full GAPS diet, as long as you tolerate it well.
For all of those who enjoy beans, I also wanted to note that beans do not have to be gas producing for most people. Some say that it may cause problems the first couple of times you eat beans, but then your bodies regulate and it’s no longer a problem. I’ve found that soaking 12-24 hours in warm water, and then cooking with a bit of kombu seaweed helps them be very digestible, personally.
Beans are very adaptable, as you will see in the following suggestions and recipes. They actually take on the flavors of other ingredients quite well, allowing you to use them in a wide variety of ways! For example, check out this first tip!
1. Blend beans in smoothies: Yes, add beans to smoothies! They add thickness, protein, and nutrients, and no one needs to know they are in there. Smoothie ingredients can be expensive, but beans certainly aren’t! Check out this cocoa-bean smoothie for just one idea out of many.
2. Make beans into hearty soups: My Italian Sausage and Lentil soup found in Everyday Nourishing Food is GAPs friendly as well as delicious! In that recipe I use the lentils to add great flavor and protein and carbohydrates to a very nutrient dense meal. You will also find many bean soups in my cookbook, Ladled: Nourishing Soups for All Seasons. You don’t have to look long to find mouth-watering bean soups because beans are well suited for soups, which make hearty and frugal meals easily.
3. Bean Dips: Whether making hummus, white bean dip, or lentil dip, bean dips are a yummy way to add inexpensive protein to a meal. You can use it on a sandwich in place of the meat, or instead of mayo (which is more expensive to buy/make), you can serve it with crudités or crackers, or you can simply eat it straight! Check out this recipe for Curried Bean dip, shown above, for a delicious example.
…