Beans: The Super Nutritious Food

Beans are an excellent food to have in your diet. Beans are full of protein so they can be a good substitute for meat in your diet. Beans are very high is dietary fiber so if you eat beans regularly in your diet you don't have to worry about adding more fiber to your diet. Beans are low in sodium and fat. Beans have no cholesterol so they are a good addition to a heart healthy diet.

There are many different types of beans grown today. Kidney beans, lentils, navy beans, butter beans, pinto beans are just to name a few. Beans can be large or small but they all cook up pretty much the same way.

Beans can be bought canned, dried or frozen. Canned and frozen beans can be eaten pretty much by just heating them up. Dried beans need to be soaked. Soaking beans is easy but it does take some planning. Beans should be soaked overnight in water. You should soak about a pound of beans in six cups of water. Then you need to drain the beans and add fresh water to the beans before you cook the beans. Soaking the beans and draining the beans does not take away much of the nutritional value of the beans. Always use cold water to soak beans in since using hot water may cause the beans to spoil. Do not put beans that are soaking in the refrigerator or they will not take up water like they should.

When you cook beans if it good to make more then one meals worth of beans. Since beans take time to make you can make more then one meal and it will not take up much more of your time. Cooked beans and dean dishes freeze well for up to six months. When you take beans out of the freezer it is best to let the beans thaw slowly in the refrigerator before you heat them up.

Beans are a nutritious food that is low in cost. A pot of beans can feed a lot of people or a pot of beans can be frozen and used at a later date. Beans can be cooked ahead of time and then used for many meals. Beans can be used in your diet instead of meat since beans are high in protein. Beans can be a main dish or they can be a side dish. Beans can be accompanied with other foods. Canned bans can make a meal in a short amount of time. Beans are an economical food that is good for the whole family.