Let's Go Beans!!!

Here are some healthy statistics on some of the most common types of legumes that are easy to cook and prepare:
Lentils: .25cup dry:  150 calories, 0g fat, 0g sat fat, 27g carbs, 7g fibre, 2g sugar, 11g protein, 15mg sodium, 0mg cholesterol
Black Beans: .50 cup dry:  110 calories, 1g fat, 0g sat fat, 18g carbs, 6g fibre, 0g sugar, 7g protein, 15mg sodium, 0mg cholesterol
Dried Garbanzo Beans:  .25cup dry:  140 calories, 5g fat, 0g sat fat, 23g carbs, 7g fibre, 0g sugar, 8g protein, 10mg sodium0mg cholesterol.

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  Beans are good for you.  A great source of protein and other wonderful vitamins and minerals, these legumes are action-packed with fiber, can help reduce your blood sugar levels and may help prevent cancer.  So let's go beans tonight!

Caveat On Proteins

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  Proteins are good for you.  Proteins help move muscle fibres, assist in supporting the immune system and produce various enzymes that are essential for chemical reactions in the body.  Proteins can be animal or vegetable in source, so choose lean meats, fish, dairy, or legumes and mix it up.  Get creative with your recipes.

Eat Grains They Taste Great and They Are Good For You

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  Grains are important for healthy bodies.  Google the following and learn how you can whip up mighty fine recipes using the following:   Red Quinoa, Basmati Rice, Blak Barley, Pearled Barley, Black Rice, Red Himalayan Rice and Spelt.  FoodNetwork.com has some awesome recipes free and online!

Beans, Beans and Beans

I've always enjoyed various bean dishes and coming from a background of Mediterranean cooking, there are gazillions of ways to prepare and enjoy these low-fat, high in protein wonderful foods.  Sad to say, for the past 10 years, I have experienced a food sensitivity to legumes - let's put it this way...if you've ever seen the 'Alien' film trio where the beast rips itself from the chest cavities of humans, that was how I felt after eating beans!  There's not enough Beano in the world to save me from two tablespoons of black beans or lentils until....
I ran into a neighbor of mine who is a fab nutritionist and whined to her about my legume issue.  She suggested that instead of soaking my beans for just 12 hours, that I soak them for over 24 hours in cold water, continuously changing the water.  An added bonus would be to add seaweed to the cooking process.  So, I thought I'd try it.  At least, if the technique didn't work, I'd know what I was in for and had no patients scheduled for the next morning (this had possibilities of becoming ugly!).
Viola!!  It worked!!  Black beans, Cuban style with brown sweet rice, red snapper and green snow peas from a friend's garden.  Meal of meals....yummy in my tummy!!!!

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  Legumes are really heart healthy, low fat and high in protein.  They're cheap eats too!  When preparing any legumes, do what I did - soak those suckers for over 48 hours (yes, I soaked them for 2 DAYS) and keep changing the cold water.  You and your guests will have no ill effects from the legumes and you won't have to say 'pass the Beano, please'!  I can't wait to make an herb-infused butter bean puree that I used to enjoy so much!!  I'm off to the market to get me some beans!!