Tuesday, January 11, 2011

TUESDAY TIPS: Bean Facts

Edamame: Has nearly twice the protein of other beans and their soy protein will keep you feeling full for hours. Buy them at Sam's in individual microwave safe bags for a quick snack during the day or on the weekends.

Pinto Beans: Eating ½ cup a day is another great way to lower your LDL (bad) cholesterol levels. Breakfast idea: mix a helping of beans in with your scrambled egg whites and salsa.

Black Beans: I’ve heard it but never tried it….Next time you’re whipping up a batch of brownies, substitute a 16oz can of pureed black beans for the eggs and oil. They also contain the cancer fighting antioxidant anthocyanin (as much as grapes or cranberries).

Navy Beans: High in calcium. One cup has almost 12% of the calcium needed each day; almost double any other type of bean.

Butter Beans and Lima Beans: Full of blood pressure lowering potassium

Red Beans and Kidney Beans: Have almost as much antioxidants as wild blueberries. Half a cup of these red beauties have almost the same amount of protein as 1 oz of red meat- without any of the fat or cholesterol.

Canned vs. dried:
*If you soak the dried beans it will loosen the skins which will reduce the amount of gas they cause.
*The US Dept of Agriculture considers dried beans a vegetable serving while canned beans are not
*A cup of dried beans has less than 10mg of sodium while a canned beans can have more than 700mg. If you use canned, reduce the sodium by rinsing the beans in a strainer for at least a minute.
*Dried beans cost less

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