Beans: Protein Alternative To Meat

Discussion in 'Food & Drinks' started by Frank Sanoica, Apr 26, 2016.

  1. Frank Sanoica

    Frank Sanoica Supreme Member
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    Vegans know the value of beans. They'd better, if they do not want to become protein-deficient. I had an opened can in the fridge, needed used (note the double Hoosier-style verb construction), so threw them into my "soup" tonight. Then I started thinking......(.risky endeavor). Buy a bagful of beans, most kinds, they are rock-hard little gemstones, that much I know. I recall my Mother buying bags of them, and cooking them forever! Asked my wife. She says Home-Ec in high school had them soak the beans in water overnight, then cook 'em in water.

    So, my question is, canned beans are already cooked, fairly thoroughly, not as much as my Mother liked, because she had some difficulty chewing them ("tough skins", she claimed), but still edibly cooked right out of the can. How do they accomplish this? Cook up a bunch in huge vessels, then can them? I don't see cooking them IN the cans as a possibility, though I've been wrong before, more often than not.

    Anybody have some ideas about my latest "imponderable"?

    Frank
     
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  2. Carol Cook

    Carol Cook Veteran Member
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    I'm not a bean fan... to high in calories for me to use very much on the WW program. But I see nothing wrong with throwing a can of beans into soup.. Just don't add them until close to the end of cooking or they will become mush.
     
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  3. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
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    I don't know about the canning procedure for beans; but as far as the soaking them overnight, I have done that before and it helps a lot.
    Beans are good protein, although they are also high in carbs as well. Greens are also high in protein; so I usually add fresh greens , as well as carrots, celery, and onions, whenever I am cooking beans. One thing that i learned from Bobby is to always add some butter when the beans are almost done cooking, and it gives the beans a wonderful buttery flavor.
    Beans are also a good food to stock up on in case of some kind of disaster that necessitates having survival food.
    Since they are dried, they can pretty much be stored indefinitely, and even if a person loses power, they won't spoil like meat or other frozen foods will.

    Another great thing that I like about beans, is that they can also be sprouted and eaten raw (and they are even more nutritious that way) if it became impossible to cook food. I also sprout lentils, and love lentil sprouts in salads.
    The larger bean sprouts taste better to me when cooked lightly, and I use those with scrambled eggs, or just sauteed with other veggies.
     
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  4. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    I like every kind of bean that I know of, and bean sprouts as well. Beans alone, however, are unsatisfying, which I suppose is why we have the piece of pork fat in a can of pork and beans.
     
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  5. Frank Sanoica

    Frank Sanoica Supreme Member
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  6. Ike Willis

    Ike Willis Supreme Member
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  7. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
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    While it is true that most vegetables that have protein in them, such as beans (which are actually a legume, and not a vegetable), do not have a complete protein the same way that animal protein (meat, cheese, eggs, etc.) have; it is not actually a problem unless a person is basing their whole diet on a single food.
    Vegetables will only have partial proteins, but when combined with other veggies, then they can make a complete protein.

    We have all heard that we need to eat a balanced diet, and this is a true statement. However, we often take this to mean that we have to balance every single meal so that it has a combination of protein, carbs, and fats, or we are not eating properly.
    Actually, this is not so.
    As long as we have a diet that balances out overall, it is perfectly fine not to have food from evey food group at each meal.
    Sometimes, it is even better NOT to have food from every group at the same meal.

    When we digest our food, it takes different digestive enzymes for different foods. Protein foods are chemically digested with a strong acid; but carbohydrate foods are digested with an alkaline enzyme. Obviously, when you combine an acid and an alkaline, they neutralize each other out; so you then do not have either one digesting properly.
    Fruit is easily digested, and passes through our system fairly rapidly. But when we eat fruit with a carb or a protein, which digests much slower, then the fruit is trapped in the stomach, and ferments, causing gas and digestive problems.
    To prevent this, and to better digest our food, many people use a method called food combining, and there are charts that will explain which foods are compatible with each other.
    To do this often means a change from our normal meal plans; but it does help one's body to properly digest our food better and get the most nutrients from what we eat.

    http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/10/27/food-combining.aspx
     
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  8. K E Gordon

    K E Gordon Veteran Member
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    I think beans have been used for years in many cultures especially Mexican and SouthAmerican as a good cheap protein source. I think many people can combine them in such a way to make a good protein source. It is just one of the things that people look to eat to save money or to compliment a meal.
     
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  9. Joe Riley

    Joe Riley Supreme Member
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    We like "16 bean" soup. Soak em'overnight.
    [​IMG][​IMG]
     
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  10. Frank Sanoica

    Frank Sanoica Supreme Member
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    @Joe Riley That looks scrumptious, Joe! Is that a dollop of sour cream tossed in? Frank

    Edit: Please reveal how you are able to place two separate images side by side instead of stacked one above the other.
     
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    Last edited: Apr 28, 2016
  11. Joe Riley

    Joe Riley Supreme Member
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    @Frank Sanoica , that is a stock picture of the bowl of soup. Sour cream would be a great addition. Smaller pictures can be placed beside each other, but larger ones will end up stacked. You have to reduce your pictures, to place them side by side.
     
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  12. Martin Alonzo

    Martin Alonzo Supreme Member
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    Rice and beans is a staple food down here in the DR. One problem for me is if you don’t have meat, eggs, where do you get your cholesterol. The body makes cholesterol but not enough so you need to take some in your diet. That is probably why the old fashion pork and beans.

    Ike -that meal that you showed do you eat that raw or how long do you cook it.
     
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  13. Babs Hunt

    Babs Hunt Supreme Member
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    IMG_1012.JPG
    Here is Louisiana ham bones and dried navy beans are a staple!
     
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  14. Babs Hunt

    Babs Hunt Supreme Member
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    2d0c79c944b327e19ad8b11986398720.jpg

    Red beans and smoked sausage.
     
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  15. Ike Willis

    Ike Willis Supreme Member
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    I lost the recipe.:)
     
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