Sneaky Ways to Eat Beans: Health benefits of beans

Phytoestrogen are estrogen-like plant compounds that are abundant in plant foods – seeds, grains, beans, fruits and vegetables. The effects of phytoestrogens are useful for many conditions and symptoms associated with low estrogen, like peri- and post-menopause! Adding foods high in phytoestrogens to the diet can be helpful for hot flashes, constipation, osteoporosis, and heart disease in menopause, to name a few. Beans are rich in phytoestrogens, antioxidants, fiber and protein!

Some people worry about the estrogen in soy beans but keep in mind that this type of estrogen is not like the hormones we make in our body. They are plant compounds like isoflavones in soy that WEAKLY bind to estrogen-beta receptors. This action is beneficial for folks with a high estrogen burden.

You may already know the benefits of beans but you may be wondering how to eat beans other than the classic baked beans which are high in sugar.

These are tips for ways to get beans into your diet ...

1. Make it simple! Open a can of eden or westbrae, rinse and add 1/2 cup as a salad topper.

2. Soups and stews like chili, chicken taco soup, french green lentil soup

3. Mash white beans or northern beans into tuna or salmon salad.  1/4 cup for every can of tuna.  I did this the other night.  No one could guess the secret ingredient in the tuna salad.  Get chunk light, skipjack, or tongol tuna for lower mercury content. Download the National Resources Defense Council to see lowest mercury fish.

4. Sneak into chocolate pudding.  Try this tofu chocolate pudding recipe.  You will never know it is made with tofu.

5. Add beans to smoothies.  The extra protein helps balance blood sugar and provide a more nutrient dense snack or breakfast.  (Thanks to my friend and chef, Bonnie Gray for teaching me this trick).  1/4-1/2 cup is a good place to start. I like garbanzo and white beans for smoothies

   1. Basic smoothie recipe – 1 cup almond or other unsweetened milk, 1/3 cup frozen organic berries, 1/2 banana, 1/4 cup white, pinto or garbanzo  Add more liquid as needed.

6. Make burgers out of them!  This is a favorite recipe from Myra Kornfeld, chef extraordinaire!

Black Bean Burgers a modified recipe, original recipe by Myra Kornfeld

Serves 4

3/4 cup sunflower seeds, roasted unsalted

1 ¾ cup cooked black beans (1 can)

2 tablespoons coconut oil plus more for sautéing the burgers

1 cup diced onion

Salt

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon cumin powder

1 teaspoon chile powder

½ teaspoon dried oregano

1 cup bean cooking liquid or water

1. Warm the oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and ½ teaspoon salt and sauté 7 to 10 minutes until softened.

2. Add the garlic, cumin, chile powder, and oregano; and sauté another minute. Add 1/3 of the beans with 1/3 cup water (or bean cooking liquid if you have cooked them fresh), mashing the beans with a potato masher or fork. When the liquid is absorbed, continue with another third of both the beans and 1/3 cup water. Continue mashing until most of the beans are broken up and the mixture is chunky. Do this 1 last time with the last 1/3 of the beans and the last 1/3 cup of the water. Cook, stirring constantly at this point until the liquid is absorbed and the beans are very thick but not completely dry.

3. Transfer the beans to a medium bowl to cool until handleable, about 15 minutes. Stir in the sunflower seeds. Taste and add more salt if necessary. Spread a layer of pumpkin seed powder on a small plate. Form the bean mix into 12 small patties.

4. Dredge each patty in the sunflower seed powder.

5. Sauté the burgers; Warm a tablespoon oil in a medium non-stick skillet. Add the patties and sauté in batches until golden, about 2 minutes on each side. Add more oil if necessary, just enough to have a thin film. Serve hot.