Is That a Bean in Your Brownie?

Since I went on and on in my passionate post yesterday on beans, I ran out of room and had more to say. Well, not a whole lot more to say other than get creative with your beans. I think you got the point that beans are really good for you. They have been shown in numerous research studies to be helpful for people trying to lose weight, control their blood sugar, lower cholesterol, and even prevent cancer! They have a low glycemic index and naturally high in fiber, protein, and antioxidants and that is what makes them such a superfood!

The biggest barrier most people have to eating beans is knowing how to cook them and what to do with them. Cooking them is easy. Gone are the days of soaking them overnight, just get them canned, drain, and rinse them to remove excess sodium. Beans are naturally low in sodium, but they taste like it, too! I hear complaints that canned beans are high in sodium, but there really isn't that much in there, and you can reduce it by half if you rinse them. And if you cooked your own beans, you would likely add your own sodium anyway (they are quite bland without some sodium and flavoring).

Eating them is easy. You can include them in soups, casseroles, dips, salads, pasta dishes, appetizers, and even desserts! Yes, I did say desserts!

Who would have though to put black beans in BROWNIES? Now you are talking my language (my second language is chocolate). Check out this recipe for black bean brownies. If you don't want to make the brownies from scratch, just put the whole can of black beans in the blender (juice and all) and blend it up. Add it to a box of brownie mix and bake as directed. You do not need to add the other ingredients (egg, oil, water, etc.), just the black beans. Let me know if you try them and how they turn out for you! Also tell me if anyone noticed (if you were able to keep it secret!).

For more bean recipes, check out these sites:

Bush's Beans

Michigan Bean Commission

Bean Bible


Photo courtesy of avlxyz

Labels: beans, Tara Gidus

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