Making Beans Respectable Again

Oh, my goodness!!! March 21st and this is the first post on Food Tweaked a Bit for the year...what's up with that?

While it might look like a slow 'food' year, that is not accurate. Food continues but writing has taken the bulk of my time, so I've been negligent in posting on both, Food tweaked and Simple Life. My goal is to do better in the 2nd quarter of the year.

The subject today, Friends, is beans......

I read about food and was curious about the statement that the more beans and veggies you eat, the better your body gets at digesting them and therefore, the less gas issues you have. I have always wondered how people that eat beans every day dealt with the gas issue. Odd thing to ponder, I know, but it is a human issue after all. My Honey is not so willing to eat beans frequently because of that, thus the curiosity. How DO other people and cultures deal with it?

It took very little research to confirm that, indeed, the more you consume, the more efficient your body becomes at processing the sugars in beans and veggies that produces the gas. There you have it! God's way of making life bearable for all the bean eating cultures, I suppose. 

I'm always on the lookout for new ways to use the old standby. As a diabetic, I love that I can get the protein I need from a snack made with no-fat refried beans! I love them and they have virtually no calories or fat but are loaded with protein. You start getting into trouble when you add things like cheese, tortillas, etc to them. On their own, quite healthy.

My Honey grew up eating the standard pinto bean more than any other. I had more variety with both sets of grandparents having gardens. Beans and peas in various colors and shapes. His grandmother, then mother cooked them differently than how I grew up knowing. So, since it can be a comfort food (gas aside), I alternate how I cook them. His way one time, then my way the next. We both get them the way that feels like 'home' for us. I was raised with pintos cooked long and slow so the juice is thick, ham or sausage cooked in them and served with rice and/or cornbread (baked or fried). He was more accustomed to them cooked with some tomatoes(salsa) and served with fideo (vermicelli) with tomato sauce. The juicier the better. Hot tortillas a must. Both ways are good but everyone responds emotionally to their childhood connections, so I alternate. Yesterday, was his way, except we had cornbread instead of tortillas.

I have yet to find a type of bean I do not like. So, today, I'm asking you to share your favorite bean and recipe with us. I'll post them here on Food Tweaked. Lets bring respectability back to healthy beans and make use of this nutritious food source!