INCREASE THE FIBER IN YOUR DIET BY ADDING BEANS

Beans, beans, and more beans!  Beans are one of the best ways to increase the fiber content of your diet.   One-half cup of cooked beans can contain up to 8 grams of cholesterol-lowering soluble fiber.  That's hard to beat!  In addition to fiber, beans are an excellent source of protein and iron, and are low in fat.  Dried beans and peas provide more protein than any other plant. That's why beans are an excellent meat replacement. 

I know, you're thinking beans - what do I do with them besides add them to soup?  Try these ideas:

·    Cooked kidney beans, black beans, or garbanzo beans have a wonderful texture and flavor when mashed with a fork.  Use as a spread on a tortilla shell.  Top with salsa, lettuce, and fat-free sour cream, roll up and take a big bite!

·    Mashed beans can be substituted for part of the meat in a recipe.  If the original recipe calls for one pound ground round, substitute 1/4 pound of the meat with mashed beans.  You will end up with 1/4 pound ground beans and 3/4 pound meat.  Use in meat loaf, Johnny Marzetti, or taco recipes.

·    Top your salads with 1/4-cup beans.  Experiment with different varieties of beans.  Try black, kidney, Cannellini, soybeans, chick peas or garbanzos, fava, cranberry, lima, navy, great northern, and pinto beans.

Bean Tips:

·    If you don't want to use dried beans, try the canned varieties.  They are significantly higher in sodium than the dried beans.  Rinsing the canned beans with warm water will help reduce the sodium content.

·       Adding 1-2 tablespoons of vinegar to your beans will keep their appearance brighter while cooking.  Add at the end of the cooking time because the acid vinegar will slow down the cooking process.

·        Soaking beans reduces their cooking time.  When you throw away the soaking water, you remove the indigestible sugars that cause the intestinal disturbance known to result from beans!  For a traditional soak, add 3 cups cool water for each cup of beans to a large pot.  Soak up to 8 hours or overnight in the refrigerator.  Drain and rinse the beans.  This method will help beans retain their texture and appearance.  The quick soak method is similar, but instead of soaking the beans overnight, slowly bring the water to a boil and cook for 2 minutes.  Cover the pot, turn off the heat, and let the beans stand for 1 hour.  Then drain and rinse the beans.  

·       Simmer beans slowly.  Cooking too fast will cause the skins to break.

·      To shorten the cooking time if using hard water, add 1/4-teaspoon baking soda per pound of beans.  

You will find the following nutrition tools helpful.  Cooking With MyPyramid is a family cookbook with helpful tips, nutritious and delicious recipes, and contains many challenges to motivate you to prepare recipes and make changes.  The book comes with a Healthy Snack Turn™ to help you select nutritious foods at the grocery store and a Your Pyramid Connections Slide Guide™ to help you determine your recommended daily food groups and amounts based on your age, activity, and gender.  Each can be ordered separately or as a set.  The cookbook comes with the tools and is $14.95.  Individually the tools are $3.50 each. 

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