Okay so I have started to make sure I have protein in every meal again and I have been sticking to my black beans. I know black beans are going to get old soon though so do any other picky eaters have recipes that they can recommend or a bean they live by.

I also eat lentils but haven't figured out how to include that in more meals yet and I've eaten white kidney beans in a burger.

I do not eat pinto beans or red kidney beans (its a long story.) I'm open to trying all other kinds though to get some more variety in my diet.

About a month ago, I made an green enchilada bean soup with pureed white beans and enough stock to my preferred consistency- so good! I added sauteed onions for a bit more flavor boost.

1 can (10.5 oz) can of green enchilada sauce
1 to 1 1/2 cups white beans (I used great northern)
Stock (veggie or whatever you prefer to use.)
1/2 onion, sauteed

Put in food processor/blender or mash beans until smooth, put in pot along with green enchilada sauce and stir. Saute' onions for a few minutes then add to the pot. Heat until warm/hot.

If you eat cheese, a little bit of that on top would be great. I had it with some torn up baked corn tortillas (flavored with a bit of olive oil and tajin.)

I know this may not be what you were asking for but I've made cinnamon sugar bean blondies and they were freaking awesome, lol. The two different things I did from the recipe was use great northern beans instead of chickpeas/garbanzo and pecans instead of walnuts since they were what I had on hand at the time.

I've only used lentils once and that was to make a faux sloppy joe. I really liked it and thought it was good. Not sure why I didn't make it again?!

Oh, meatless red or white chili is another great way to use up beans (cannellini, black beans, and northern beans would work well.) Black bean soup is really good (I just went with a base- a ton of veggies like tomatoes, onions, bel peppers, little bit of corn, some stock and spices like cumin, chili powder, and garlic.)

Have you tried hummus? Very easy to make and you can flavor it any way you like- my fave is roasted red pepper and garlic with either chickpeas or great northern beans. I don't always use tahini and it's still just as good without.

I love lentil soup (I make mine curry) with a sauteed chopped onion, four garlic cloves, about 2 chopped carrots, 1.5T curry powder. When all is combined/cooked, add 8 cups of broth and a bag of lentils and simmer for about two hours or until cooked and thick. I portion it into 1-cup servings and freeze.

I love this dal recipe and often keep it portioned in my freezer too.

This black bean burger is seriously delicious and I keep it frozen (notice a pattern here).

This broccoli bean cheddar soup is another awesome one for the freezer - LOL.

Budgetbytes has some awesome bean recipes here:
BEAN RECIPES

LENTIL RECIPES

That dal sounds delicious. I am def going to try that.

Hummus is great. I'm waiting for my mother to send me the recipe so I start munching on that. She has developed a recipe that makes it silky and smooth instead of chunky like a lot of recipes turn out. I am excited for it.

try adding quinoa and fire roasted tomatoes to some black beans its pretty good. i also found this black bean pizza i've been wanting to try if you get a chance to try it let me know how it comes out.



Makes: 6 servings

Active Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes


Preparation
1.Preheat grill to medium.
2.Combine tomato, beans and corn in a medium bowl. Sprinkle cornmeal onto a large baking sheet. Stretch the dough into about a 12-inch circle and lay it on top of the cornmeal, coating the entire underside of the dough.
3.Transfer the crust from the baking sheet to the grill. Close the lid and cook until the crust is puffed and lightly browned on the bottom, 4 to 5 minutes.
4.Using a large spatula, flip the crust. Spread barbecue sauce on it and quickly sprinkle with the tomato mixture and cheese. Close the lid; grill until the cheese is melted and the bottom of the crust is browned, 4 to 5 minutes.

Nutrition

Per serving: 316 calories; 6 g fat ( 3 g sat , 0 g mono ); 13 mg cholesterol; 48 g carbohydrates; 3 g added sugars; 14 g protein; 4 g fiber; 530 mg sodium; 94 mg potassium.

Nutrition Bonus: Calcium (15% daily value).

Carbohydrate Servings: 3

Exchanges: 3 starch, 3 medium-fat meat

I used to think I hated beans; yet, as a vegetarian, I needed to find a way to incorporate them in my diet to be certain of getting enough protein. I discovered that pureeing a can of beans with its liquid in a food processor and adding some olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and other seasonings of choice makes a great salad dressing. It's similar to hummus, only more liquid. So it wasn't the beans I didn't like but the texture. I use different kinds of beans for variety.

You can also add beans to soup. Pureeing them makes the soup more creamy.

I love beans and eat them pretty frequently. One dish I make often is one I created back when I was a poor teenage vegetarian. I now eat meat, but I still eat this dish. Warning: This will sound gross to some people and it sure ain't a pretty dish to look at, but if you like vinegar it's really good!

First, over medium heat I saute one medium onion and about 4 cloves of garlic in some olive oil. I salt it and let it cook for about 5 minutes.

Then I add a can of black beans. I drain out most, but not all, of the liquid from the can first. I heat it for a minute or so, then I sprinkle a layer of oregano across the entire surface of the beans.

I then pour in enough balsamic vinegar to cover the beans. I let it simmer until the balsamic cooks down and the beans are no longer watery but have a vinegary glaze.

Often I eat it just like that, but sometimes I also mix in about half an avocado at the end. I then chop up the rest of the avocado and eat some raw slices with the hot beans.

I know this sounds horrendous, but really, it's good if you love vinegar and it's really cheap!

Crispin- that sounds delicious! I'm definitely going to try that. Love vinegar!!!

Yogini - Ha, you have a powerful imagination if you can already see the potential and beauty that lies in vinegary beans. If you love vinegar, you'll probably really like it! I've made this for the vinegar lovers I know, and they all really liked it and make it themselves now too.

Crispin- my mouth is watering already!!!
I've already printed it up- can't wait!!

Another quick, easy, and tasty way to eat beans is kinda making a scampi. I usually use navy beans for this but any white bean, like cannellini, would be good too, I think.
--Saute lots of garlic and a little onion in olive oil.
--Add beans.
--Add butter.
--Lower heat. Add lemon juice.
--Rain down some parmesan goodness.

If I have them on hand, I also use white wine and fresh parsley. More often than not, I don't have those on hand and it's still tasty w/o them.

Yogini - It's even better the next day. I usually get 2-3 servings out of one can, depending on if I'm having it plain or with rice. The avocado addition makes it super filling but not in a painful way.