Friday, February 5, 2010

Beans, Beans, the Musical Fruit.......

........the more you eat, the more you toot. The more you toot, the better you feel! So let's have beans at every meal!


Yeah, yeah. I'm so predictable. I just can't write a post about the benefits of eating beans without letting my bratty inner child appear quoting silly bean rhymes. Back, BICJ, back!*cracking whip*

My friend Dianne reminded me that beans are a terrific high fiber, low calorie, nutrient dense food. Thanks to her, I may have stumbled upon a food that satisfies my unrelenting prednisone carbohydrate cravings without sending me into a sugar fit. You can read more about bean benefits here, in this Prevention article:
If I could eat only one food for the rest of my life, it would definitely be beans. I love the way they taste, but they also fill me up for hours. Plus, they make me feel like a health champion. That's because beans have such an amazing nutrition track record. Bean eaters are associated with smaller waist sizes and a 22% lower risk of obesity. They also take in less "bad" fat and one-third more fiber than those who avoid these nutritional gems.
Here's my favorite beany recipe:

In a microwave-safe container, mix:
one 16 oz. can diced tomatoes
AND
as many other types of canned beans that you'd like. Mix 'em up, and microwave.

I like black, pinto, and garbanzo beans these days. I buy low sodium organics when I can find them.

2 comments:

Jenny P said...

Ok, I'll try it! You know Julia, you should really start charging a fee for your promotion services...I think everytime you mention something here at least 5 people try it (who comment) and who knows how many others!

But now I've got one for you - fish oil. Long story short (and I know some people will be skeptical), my great grandmother came to my mom in a dream and told her I needed a suppliment, I knew which one but was too busy to get to it so she had to remind me. I've decided it's fish oil (I'll spare you how I know). This originally came about for my eyes but I also know of many other health benefits it can provide (less arthritis pain, weight loss, mental health, and more). What have you got about fish oil in your wealth of RN insight?

Thanks for sharing so much with us, I look forward to every post:)

annie said...

Julia, in my family we always roasted chick peas and ate them as a snack. My parents were purists and only used salt, but you could jazzy up your treat with chili powder,or some indian spices, such as cumin or curry. Actually, nuts are also very healthy and great as snacks. Of course, not as tasty as chocolate cake or doughnuts, but much better for you.

I can't remember where I read about it, but you are absolutely right about fish oil, Jenny. I used to use a product "UDO'S OILS", they have an array of omega oils, digestive enzymes and probiotics etc. They are of a high quality and recommended by my naturopath. We need all the help we can get and these are good supplements to take. My rheumatologist also spoke about vitamin E, but when I go back to him I will ask him more about this.

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