Beautiful Beans
Beautiful Beans and How To Cook Them
Beautiful Beans and How To Cook Them
Beans, beans, beautiful beans! One of my favorite ways to get protein into a smoothie bowl is by adding beans. This slightly unconventional ingredient adds loads of protein, iron, fiber and those energy boosting complex carbs. When well rinsed, their flavor is undetectable, and they add a special richness to your smoothie bowl. Beans are also very filling, leaving you satisfied for hours. One common complaint about beans is that they are difficult to digest and can leave you feeling gassy. This is a problem that is easily solved, and with a few tips and tricks, you will be making your own economical, home-made beans, gas free!
Ingredients
o 2 cups of dried beans (I use garbanzo, black, cannellini, or adzuki beans)
o 6 cups of water (each for soaking and then for cooking)
o ¼ cup of vinegar (inexpensive vinegar works just fine)
2 1” pieces of kombu
2 cups of dried beans yeilds the equivalent of 3-4 (15 oz.) cans
Beautiful Beans and How To Cook Them Method
1. First measure out 2 cups of dried beans. 2 cups will yield 4½ to 6 cups of cooked beans, the equivalent of 3-4 cans! Take a quick look to see that there are no suspicious looking beans (shriveled or dark) or debris such as stones. Give them a good rinse then add them to a bowl with about 6 cups of warm water and ¼ cup of vinegar. Inexpensive vinegar will work just fine. This process helps break down the indigestible starches. Soak your beans for 8-10 hours. I find that soaking beans really just takes planning rather than time. You can put them to soak before bedtime or before heading off to work.
2. Next, rinse your soaked beans carefully under cold running water to remove any traces of vinegar. Add them to a pot with 6 cups of fresh water and the secret de-gassing ingredient, kombu. Kombu is an edible seaweed with a unique ability to neutralize gas producing compounds. You’ll need two 1” pieces.
3. The easiest and fastest way to cook beans is in an Instant Pot. Cook on high pressure for about 10 minutes with a 10-minute natural release. Exact cooking time will vary slightly depending upon how long you soaked your beans and how fresh the beans are. Open the pot and fish out the pieces of kombu. Then rinse your beans again under cold running water to stop the cooking process and to remove any traces of kombu. Cooked beans store in the refrigerator for a week or in the freezer for 6 months.
Cooking times in the Instant Pot for soaked beans:
Garbanzo beans 12 minutes
Black beans 9 minutes
Cannellini beans 8 minutes
Adzuki beans 7 minutes
4. You can also cook beans in a rice cooker, following the above steps, by using the brown rice setting. Stove top cooking is an option too. Bring the water, beans and kombu to a boil, reduce to a simmer and skim off any foam that rises to the surface. Cook the beans until they are soft but not mushy. This can take anywhere from 30-90 minutes.
I pretty much always have some type of cooked beans in my fridge just waiting to be added to my next smoothie bowl creation. Black beans blend up thick and rich in chocolate flavored smoothie bowls and white beans pair well with fruity recipes. Adzuki beans look lovely in pink and red smoothie bowls and garbanzo beans give a wonderful cookie dough texture. Blending beans is a clever way to enjoy a decadent, satisfying breakfast (or dessert!) with all the health benefits too!
Here are some delicious recipes with beans you may enjoy: (click/tap on the recipe you’d like to try)
The Red White and Bluebs Smoothie Bowl
The Cherry Blossom Smoothie Bowl
Printable Recipe Card:
Beautiful Beans and How To Cook Them
Ingredients
Instructions
- First, measure out 2 cups of dried beans. 2 cups will yield 4½ to 6 cups of cooked beans, the equivalent of 3-4 cans!
- Take a quick look to see that there are no suspicious-looking beans (shriveled or dark) or debris such as stones. Give them a good rinse then add them to a bowl with about 6 cups of warm water and ¼ cup of vinegar. Inexpensive vinegar will work just fine. This process helps break down the indigestible starches. Soak your beans for 8-10 hours. I find that soaking beans really just takes planning rather than time. You can put them to soak before bedtime or before heading off to work.
- Next, rinse your soaked beans carefully under cold running water to remove any traces of vinegar. Add them to a pot with 6 cups of fresh water and the secret de-gassing ingredient, kombu. Kombu is an edible seaweed with a unique ability to neutralize gas-producing compounds. You’ll need two 1” pieces.
- The easiest and fastest way to cook beans is in an Instant Pot. Cook on high pressure for about 10 minutes with a 10-minute natural release. The exact cooking time will vary slightly depending upon how long you soaked your beans and how fresh the beans are. Open the pot and fish out the pieces of kombu. Then rinse your beans again under cold running water to stop the cooking process and to remove any traces of kombu. Cooked beans store in the refrigerator for a week or
- Store in the freezer for 6 months.
Calories
40.86Fat (grams)
0.16Sat. Fat (grams)
0.03Carbs (grams)
8.99Fiber (grams)
1.74Net carbs
7.25Sugar (grams)
3.37Protein (grams)
2.02Sodium (milligrams)
151.01Cholesterol (grams)
0.00Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators.