I'm all about the BEAN

Bean (/ˈbiːn/) is a common name for large plant seeds of several genera of the family Leguminosae which are used for human or animal food

 

DID YOU KNOW?

Beans are one of nature’s healthiest foods, they are naturally low in total fat, contain no saturated fat or cholesterol, and provide important nutrients such as fiber, protein, calcium, iron, folic acid and potassium.

Beans have significant amounts of fiber and soluble fiber with one cup of cooked beans providing between 9 and 13 grams of fiber. Soluble fiber can help lower blood cholesterol, Meat, on the other hand, contains no fiber at all. This difference in fiber content means that meat is digested fairly quickly, whereas beans are digested slowly, keeping you satisfied longer. Plus, beans are low in sugar, which prevents insulin in the bloodstream from spiking and causing hunger. When you substitute beans for meat in your diet, you get the added bonus of a decrease in saturated fat, Beans are also high in protein, complex carbohydrates, folate and iron.

More than just a meat substitute, beans are so nutritious that the latest dietary guidelines recommend we triple our current intake from 1 to 3 cups per week. What makes beans so good for us? Here's what the experts have to say:

Chronic conditions such as cancer, diabetes, and heart disease all have something in common. Being overweight increases your chances of developing them and makes your prognosis worse. Which means that trimming your waistline does more for you than make your pants look better. Mark Brick, PhD, a professor in the department of soil and crop sciences at Colorado State University, is investigating the ability of different bean varieties to prevent cancer and diabetes. Bean carbohydrates have been proven to drastically improve the stability of blood sugar levels in diabetics. Many adult-onset diabetics have been able to greatly reduce or eliminate their dependence on insulin through diets containing substantial amounts of beans.

The mischief-maker behind the bean’s reputation as a “musical fruit” is a group of complex sugars called oligosaccharides. Oligosaccharides cannot be broken down by our digestive enzymes; instead, our intestinal bacteria ferment them during digestion, causing most of the gas attributable to beans. Luckily, it’s possible to mitigate the gas-making effects of beans through controlling factors such as cooking method and duration, complementary ingredients, and the variety of bean used.

Here's how to:

Beans are infamous for producing excess intestinal gas, but proper preparation can mitigate this problem. Instead of buying canned beans, get dry beans and soak them for at least six hours before cooking them. Soaking beans and discarding the soaking water eliminates the majority of the oligosaccharides that cannot be digested, reducing bacterial fermentation and intestinal gas. If you do buy canned beans rinse them thoroughly, since most of the oligosaccharides will be in the canning liquid.

No better way to emphasis how important it is to have Bean in your diet, I personally would eat beans anytime and any day, no wonder I grew up calling Beans "Bance" lols. I know a dozen of people don't like Bean as much as I do and I know the reason to that - Your mama didn't make you a proper nice bowl of beans as a child, thank God for Akara and Moi Moi which are really good alternatives to the generic bean porridge. Bean can be used in so many other ways which I'll delve into in the coming posts. But first a quick idea, for salads and fried rice as garnish, switch from the kidney bean to a the regular bean or brown bean, ensure it's cooked properly in a pressure pot to allow for singleness of the bean.

Bean is all in the preparation, once you get it right, you got to love Bean. Many people still have difficulty preparing a delicious pot of beans, this has to stop. 

In the next article I'd show you why my bean meal is so special and why you should try it out, wait for it.

Enough tips now, lets get to cooking BEANS