Beans are good for your heart, pocketbook and schedule.

Dried beans are a wonderful real food. They are complex carbohydrates, so your body digests them slowly; this makes you feel fuller longer and gives you long term energy. Beans also have a lot of fiber and contain a wealth of protein, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals.

As America’s Cooking Cheerleader™, I want you to take control over your family’s health and save money by cooking real foods at home. I am not against all pre-prepared and processed foods and on occasion, they have their place. Canned beans are the perfect example of this. Dried beans do need to be soaked and they take time to cook. They often taste better when you make them from scratch because you can add your own type and quantity of flavorings, but if you want to incorporate more beans into your diet then the canned varieties will let you do that easily. Depending on the brand, the only thing added to canned beans is salt. You can easily rinse the salt off after you drain the beans.

Beans are wonderful in salads and as a salad. You can make a dressing of fresh lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, and garlic for chickpeas or white beans. In fact, you can put any homemade salad dressing on drained, rinsed beans to make a great, room temperature, starch side dish. You can add beans to any casserole dish or ground beef dish. Rice and beans make a great vegetarian meal. Use your favorite type of bean; cook fresh rice, add a salad and you have an easy, nutritious, delicious dinner in 25 minutes.

If you have a belief that beans are poor man’s food, that beans are nothing but starch, or that beans are fattening, rethink your belief. They are a nutrient rich, low fat, real food and whether you make them from scratch or use a canned version, they are a bonus to add to your diet.

Cooking is easier than you think and you and your family are worth the time and effort it takes.

Simple cooking idea: After you soak dry beans, throw out the soaking water, rinse, and cook in fresh water. You will have less gas.

Copyright ©2010 by Gigi Centaro. All Rights Reserved.