Rule 54.

BEANS.

There are over 30 kinds of beans out there!

But this post is about black beans. You can get them dry and sprout/cook them or in a can.

It’s a cheap and nutritional food and everybody has access to - it so no excuses!

Let’s talk about it.

Benefits:  Full of protein and fiber, gluten free, vegan friendly, lowers cholesterol levels, improves diabetics' blood glucose control, reduces risk of many cancers, lowers blood pressure, regulates functions of the colon, prevents and cures constipation, prevents piles and other bowel problems, antioxidant, reduces risk of heart attack and controls PMS.

Nutrition value: 1 cup of beans has 53 calories, 7.7 grams of protein, 7 grams carbs, 119% of your recommend daily intake of vitamin C, 30% of daily vitamins B’s and an average 10% of all your minerals.

You can make a lot with that. Mexican food like chillies and salsa are the most popular but what I like the most is to make burgers and brownies so I’ll give you a few tips and recipes to try.

If you have a can of black beans put it in a food process and pulse. Add whatever you want and BAKE it!

Don’t fry it - just bake it.

Let you imagination run with that but that’s the basic. Bake it on 400F for 15 min each side.

And brownies….YUM!

Fancy Brownies:

Ingredients:

1 (14 oz) canned low-sodium black beans, rinsed and drained
2 large eggs
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup stevia
1/2 teaspoon oil
1 tablespoon unsweetened almond milk (or dairy, skimmed)
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground coffee or instant coffee
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, divided

Directions:

·         Preheat the oven to 350° F.  Grease a non-stick 9 x 9-inch square baking pan with baking spray and line with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on all sides.

·         Blend the black beans, eggs, cocoa powder, stevia, oil, almond milk, balsamic, baking powder and coffee in the blender until smooth and pour into a bowl. Fold in 1/2 cup chocolate chips until combined.  Pour the brownie batter into the prepared pan.  Sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips evenly over the top of the brownies.

·         Bake the brownies until a toothpick comes out clean, about 30 to 32 minutes.  Allow the brownies to cool completely before slicing them into squares.

Brown Muffins:

Ingredients:

·         1 can black beans, well rinsed and drained

·         2 flex eggs (2 Tbsp flax seeds mix with 6 tbsp water)

·         3 Tbsp coconut oil, melted (or sub other oil of choice)

·         3/4 cup cocoa powder

·         1 tsp pure vanilla extract

·         1/2 cup stevia

·         1 1/2 tsp baking powder

·         Optional toppings: crush walnuts, pecans or semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

·         Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

·         Lightly grease a 12-slot standard size muffin pan (not mini). Make sure you've rinsed and thoroughly drained your black beans at this point.

·         Prepare flax egg by combining flax and water in the bowl of the food processor. Pulse a couple times and then let rest for a few minutes.

·         Add remaining ingredients (besides walnuts or other toppings) and puree - about 3 minutes - scraping down sides as needed. You want it pretty smooth.

·         If the batter appears too thick, add a Tbsp or two of water and pulse again. It should be slightly less thick than chocolate frosting but nowhere close to runny.

·         Evenly distribute the batter into the muffin tin and smooth the tops with a spoon or your finger.

·         Optional: Sprinkle with crushed walnuts, pecans or chocolate chips.

·         Bake for 20-26 minutes or until the tops are dry and the edges start to pull away from the sides. I found mine took about 25.

·         Remove from oven and let cool for 30 minutes before removing from pan. They will be tender, so remove gently with a fork. The insides are meant to be very fudgy, so don't be concerned if they seem too moist - that's the point. Plus, they're vegan so it doesn't really matter.

Power Cookies:

Ingredients:

·         1 can black beans

·         2 tbsp olive oil (or coconut oil)

·         2 tbsp nut butter (try almond)

·         2 tbsp non- dairy milk (or dairy milk if you nut vegan)

·         1/2 cup (120 ml) coconut sugar

·         4-5 tbsp cacao powder

·         2 tbsp oat flour (make it yourself!)

·         1 tsp cinnamon

·         1 tsp baking powder

Directions:

·         Preheat oven to 350°F 

·         Rinse the beans thoroughly in cold water. Drain them, save 20 beans for decoration

·         Add the rest to a food processor together with oil, nut butter and milk. Blend until smooth.

·         Sift together sugar, cacao powder, oat flour, cinnamon and baking powder and add to the bean mixture. Run it again until all is combined. The batter should be similar to a thick mousse.

·         Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spoon 9-12 evenly distributed dollops of batter on it. Use a spoon or a finger to form the cookies into round shapes, 3-4 inches/7-10 cm wide.

·         Bake for around 20 minutes (they should still be a little soft when you remove them from the oven).

·         Set aside a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Not a lot of recipes but the point here is that you can use the black beans for so much and get a lot from it.

Eating healthy when you’re rich is not a problem; eating healthy on a budged is a different story but you can!

Start using more of it and you’ll thank me.

Research and writing by Dana Gat ©2014