The 52 New Foods Challenge – Black Beans

The 52 New Foods Challenge Food of the Week: Black Beans

Jennifer Tyler Lee suggests making them in a slow cooker. Black beans are one if my favorite beans, but I love all beans. I have loved them since I was a kid but I am now discovering that they bother my gut. I have cut way back on the amount of beans I can eat. [Insert Sad Face here.]
This is our last winter food! Spring produce starts next week.

Food Facts:

  • Dried beans are very high in phytonutrients and black beans have are second only to lentils
  • Canned beans have a higher antioxidant value than home cooked beans (makes me feel good about almost never making home cooked beans!)
  • Good source of potassium, folate, thiamine, riboflavin, manganese, magnesium, zinc, calcium, copper, and omega-3s
  • Good source of fiber
  • When eaten with grains, beans make a complete protein, containing all essential amino acids
  • It helps protect against cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes
  • Because of their high fiber content, they help to lower cholesterol and also prevent a rapid increase in blood sugar, making them great for people with hypoglycemia or insulin resistance
  • One study (Nurses’ Health Study II) showed that women that ate 2+ servings of beans or lentils each day had a 24% reduced risk of breast cancer. 

From The 52 New Foods Challenge: A Family Cooking Adventure for Each Week of the Year, with 150 Recipes by Jennifer Tyler Lee, Encyclopedia of Healing Foods by Michael Murray, Joseph Pizzorno, and Lara Pizzorno, and Superfoods: The Healthiest Foods on the Planetby Tonia Reinhard

Photo Credit: Luv Kreativ Photography https://www.instagram.com/luvkreativ/?hl=en