Bean, Beans The Musical Fruit...Wait, Fruit?

Dry kidney beans. Photo from Morguefile.

OK, sing along with me:

"Beans, beans the musical fruit!
The more you eat, the more you...."


We all know the rest of the rhyme. (And, I'm not interested in blogging about flatulence!)

However, I am curious about the claim that beans are members of the fruit family. Really? So, I put on my investigative reporter hat and found this little nugget of nutrition trivia.

Beans are members of the legume family. Other legumes include lentils, peanuts, peas and soybeans, according to The Bean Institute. The most popular bean consumed in the United States is the pinto bean.

My top five favorites ways to eat beans are:
  • Boiling and mashing black beans with the juice of a fresh lime and chopped garlic to use on tacos
  • Tossing several beans together and dressing it with a light Italian dressing for a summer salad
  • Adding pinto beans to a pot of vegetable soup for extra protein
  • Mashing garbanzo beans and using them in lieu of ground beef to make a veggie "meatloaf"
  • Combining kidney, pinto and white beans as the base for a vegetarian chili
So, how do you like to eat beans?

Until Next Time,
Choose Healthy!

Angela Tague
Whole Foods Living

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9 comments:

  1. My favorite of late is a fresh bean salad- garbanzo's, diced red onion dressed with fresh lemon juice, a drizzle of olive oil and some fresh herbs-either mint or parsley...yum!

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    1. Oh! That sounds perfect for summer. I like to make something similar with cubes of avocado tossed in there too. Yum!

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  2. Black beans on top of chips and cheese:) I love beans, but they don't love me.

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  3. I like good ol' pinto beans with chopped onions, chow chow, and hot cornbread. The ultimate Southern meal.


    Lee
    Wrote By Rote

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    1. I love pintos, onions and corn bread so that sounds good! I've never heard of chow chow. Better do some Googling... Thanks for stopping by! ~Angela

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  4. Here's two of my very favorite summer recipes using beans...
    http://seasidesimplicity.blogspot.com/2010/09/easy-corn-and-black-bean-salsa.html
    and http://seasidesimplicity.blogspot.com/2010/02/middle-east-salad-regional-recipes.html

    Hope all is well in your world. I'm still working those long 10 hour days, doesn't leave me much blogging time :(

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    Replies
    1. Oh! Thanks for sharing! I will check those out soon. Yes, I wish I also had time for more posts on my blog, but by the time I get done with my paid writing, I'm usually tired of looking at the computer screen. LOL! ~Angela

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    2. Yes, I've heard the song. You see, there were these brothers ... and a school bus ... and ...

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