“Beans, beans, they’re good for your heart….”
But do you know why?
Beans are an excellent source of soluble fibre—the kind that doesn’t scratch. Instead, soluble fibre absorbs like a sponge, making it very good at soaking up excess cholesterol, toxins and hormone metabolites as they’re dumped into the bowel for disposal.
Beans also shorten your transit time. This refers to how much time passes between ingesting a food and eliminating the waste products of it. A good transit time is considered 12-18 hours, whereas anything longer may mean you have sluggish elimination pathways. (You can measure your personal transit time by ingesting raw beets and watching for it in the stool!)
Easy ways to add beans to your diet
Add them to soups and salads for an easy fibre (and protein!) boost.
Puree or mash them, add some Mexican seasonings and use as a dip for raw vegetables.
Prefer a less piquant, Middle Eastern flavour? Hummus comes in all sorts of varieties these days. My vote is for garlic hummus, because garlic provides anti-bacterial benefits and cardiovascular support.
Here’s a way to incorporate black beans into DESSERT (gasp!). If you love chocolate you will enjoy these:
Black Bean Brownies
This recipe contains no flour, is gluten-free and dairy-free*.
If sensitive to dairy products, be sure to check the chocolate chips for milk ingredients.
1 x 19 oz. can of Eden Organic black beans, rinsed (these cans are BPA-free)
3 chicken eggs, or 2 large duck eggs
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 cup coconut oil, slightly softened
1/3 cup coconut sugar
1/2 cup dark (70% cocoa) chocolate chips OR ½ cup dried cranberries
1 tbsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
¼ tsp stevia powdered extract
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees .
- Add all ingredients, except walnuts, to a food processor and puree.
- Stir in nuts.
- Add brownie batter to a pre-greased 8×8 baking pan.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Enjoy!