My favorite is a salad with black beans, tomato and corn. I think it's fine by itself with a little salt and pepper, but you can add a viniagrette dressing.
I also put black beans and salsa on top of roasted sweet potato.
And then there's white beans; I add them to a soup with pasta, ground chicken and tomato sauce, and in a salad with tuna, tomato and a little vinegar.
And of course black beans or non-fat refried beans on a tortilla.
Those are all easy because you can just calculate the calories of the beans and other ingredients, and then divide by the serving size if you are making more than one portion. A half cup black beans (canned) = 100 cal. And 8 grams fiber! Half cup white beans = 127 cal. and 9.3 gr fiber.
Technically not beans, but you can also cook yellow peas or lentils, as well as white beans, and puree them with a little garlic and oil for a dip/sandwich filler that is like hummus. (I actually like it better than hummus.) In Greece this is called "faba". There is a good recipe here:
Faba recipe
The recipe calls for a half cup olive oil, but I just soften the onions and garlic in about one tablespoon and I find that enough. I like a milder version without so much vinegar, and squeeze a little lemon juice on the top at the end. Keep track of the cups of dry peas you use and that will be the basis of the calories, along with the olive oil. A half cup onion and garlic is only about 40 cal. The cooked peas expand and can make a LOT so keep that in mind.
You can also put canned beans on top of pretty much any salad for a little extra protein/fiber. Beans seem to go well with vinegar-oil dressings, I think.
I use both canned beans and dry cooked beans, the dry beans are cheaper and sometimes the store here doesn't have canned black beans on the shelf.
bronzeager , 04-18-2010 01:03 AM
