Beans are a serious power-food. They're packed with protein, fiber, and other nutrients. They also taste FANTASTIC... especially in HG recipes. Eat your beans, people!!!   

Bean There, Yum That Salad

PER SERVING (one cup): 122 calories, 2g fat, 338mg sodium, 20.5g carbs, 6g fiber, 5g sugars, 6g protein -- PointsPlus® value 3*

This is just like one of those fancy and delicious salads sold behind the counter at swanky delis. Except ours is less expensive... and you know exactly how much (or should we say, how little) oil is actually in it!

 

Ingredients:

For Salad
One 15-oz. can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

One 15-oz. can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained and rinsed

2 cups fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch segments

2 cups bite-sized broccoli florets

1 red or yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced and cut into 1-inch segments

1 small red onion, thinly sliced

3 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

For Dressing
2 oranges

1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar
1 tbsp. lemon juice

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp. chopped garlic

Dash salt, or more to taste

Dash black pepper, or more to taste

Directions:
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a rapid boil. While you wait for the water to boil, fill a large bowl with cold water and ice; set aside.

Add green beans and broccoli to the boiling water, and cook for about 5 minutes, until just tender. Drain water from the pot and immediately transfer the veggies to the bowl of water and ice to stop the cooking. (Congratulations -- you just blanched the veggies!) Set aside.

To make the dressing, squeeze the juice from both oranges into a medium bowl. Remove any seeds. Add all other ingredients for the dressing, and whisk until uniform and blended. Set aside.

Drain ice and water from the large bowl, so only the blanched veggies remain. Add kidney beans, garbanzo beans, bell pepper, onion, and parsley. Top with dressing and toss well, ensuring all veggies and beans are coated.

Let marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour before eating. (Okay... If you REALLY can't wait, go ahead and dig in!)  

MAKES 10 SERVINGS

The Balanced Bean

As if tasting good wasn't enough of a reason to chow down on your legumes...

* Beans are a good source of soluble AND insoluble fiber, both of which you need. Plus, they're naturally low in calories and fat. FANTASTIC!

* They're full of complex carbs, which burn off slowly and keep you energized for a long time.

* While the canning process sucks a bunch of nutrients out of some other veggies, canned beans are NOT lower in nutrients than dried beans. YAY!

* Some of the other good things found in beans are folate, zinc, manganese, iron, and potassium. Woohoo!

Breakout Bean Find! Kashi Mexicali Black Bean Thin Crust Pizza

PER SERVING (1/3rd of the pie): 210 calories, 7g fat, 560mg sodium, 27g carbs, 4g fiber, 2g sugars, 13g protein -- PointsPlus® value 6*

This pizza features a spicy sauce made from black beans and tomatoes. And it's topped with two types of cheese, roasted corn, red peppers, and more. It's reeeeally good.

Welcome to Beantown...

Chicken-with-a-Kick Pack - The most exciting thing about this recipe (other than the beans!) is that it cooks in a piece of foil -- easiest cleanup ever! 

Lean Bean Cheesy Enchiladas - FYI, the Spanish word for "bean" is "frijole." You're welcome.

10-Alarm Turkey Chili and Very VERY Veggie Stew - Two legume-laden recipes that you can make in a crock pot. Woohoo!

Peachy-Keen Black Bean Soup - Super-easy, totally delicious, and packed with fiber.

Falafel Pita Pockets with Dill-icious Yogurt Dip - All the flavor of falafel without that gross deep-frying business.