Beans: The Superfood That's Good For Your Body and Your Budget

March 4, 2009 - PRLog -- To coincide with the online publication of “How to Feed Your Whole Family a Healthy, Balanced Diet” – a book offering a plethora of quick healthy recipes  – HowTo.co.uk takes a look at how beans can help reduce your costs as well as your waistline..

Looking for food that will nourish your family without costing a fortune?  Then look no further than beans, peas and lentils.  These little guys, collectively known as "pulses" or "legumes", are nutrient powerhouses well worth keeping in the pantry. There’s nothing better than a bowl of beans to help balance your diet (and your budget).

Beans for a Balanced Diet

Beans provide the body with a great balance of many vital nutrients.  Studies have shown that regular consumption of beans can help lower cholesterol, reduce the risk of heart disease and even protect against cancer.  Why are beans so magical?  No doubt the magic is due to their impressive nutritional profile.

They are high in protein, and when combined with whole grains, beans give your body all of the amino acids it needs to form a complete protein.

Beans are rich in complex carbohydrates and high in fibre. This helps balance blood sugar levels while providing steady, slow-burning energy to keep you fuller for longer. This also makes beans a great choice for diabetics.

Beans are also high in iron.  This is especially good for vegetarians, growing children, and pregnant women, all of whom have greater needs for iron in their diet.

Beans for a Balanced Budget

If foods were priced in proportion to their health benefits, then the cost of beans would be through the roof.  Luckily, the opposite is true.  Beans are a great value for your nutritional buck.  Tins of beans are fairly cheap as is, but you can stretch your dollar even further by purchasing dry beans in bulk.

Dry beans take a little more planning than tinned beans.  Many varieties, such as chickpeas and kidney beans, require you to soak the beans overnight before cooking.  But a few simple tricks can make cooking with dry beans easier.

·   Cook large batches of beans and freeze the leftovers in convenient portions.
·   Keep quick-cooking lentils on hand, such as puy lentils, green lentils and red lentils, all of which require no soaking and cook in less than 30 minutes.

·   Invest in a pressure cooker.  If you get serious about cooking with dry beans, a pressure cooker significantly reduces the time it takes to cook them.

There are lots of quick healthy recipes around that are simple and great for the whole family – try the fair trade cookbook or the BBC recipe page for pulse based suppers for example. However you choose to eat your beans, be it from a tin, boiled in stock, cooked in a soup, or pureed into hummus, you’re sure to get a tasty meal that that won’t stretch your budget or your waist line.

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