Bean There, Done That!

Fun Facts about the Benevolent Bean

• There are over 1,000 varieties of beans.
• Contrary to popular belief, beans and rice do not need to be eaten together to create a complete protein. For instance, you can have a bowl of rice pudding for breakfast and beans at dinner, and you'd still be making up all the essential amino acids needed to make a complete protein.
• Cooked beans can be frozen and defrosted for eating later.
•  The Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation now advocates a bean-based, vegan diet as a great way to reduce the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and high cholesterol.
• Beans are one of the cheapest sources of protein in the grocery store. The average dried organic bean costs a grand total of about 40 cents per 100 g – that’s only $4 per 1 Kg! That’s a lot of protein for 4 buckeroos! Compare that to the cost of 1 Kg of fish or chicken!
• Beans are loaded with protein and fibre and are super low in fat.
• Coffee and chocolate, the source of great pleasure and weakness for much of the human population, come from beans!
• Beans are staples of Indian, African, Mediterranean and Latin American cuisine!
• Unlike meat and animal products, which sit in your gut for between 24 and 72 hours, beans usually pass through your system in less than a day – leaving you feeling light and bouncy!
• It’s super easy to de-fart beans!
• Beans are just plain groovy. Check out VegWeb and AllRecipes for a myriad of ways to cook with beans. 

I challenge YOU to calculate how much money you usually spend on meat in one week. Next week, switch to beans and whole grains as your main source of protein. Then, calculate the difference between the two weeks. I think you will be pleasantly pleased with beans after this exercise.