Last night I didn’t really feel like making dinner. Have you been there? Fortunately I had prepared a number of basic ingredients so dinner was a breeze, a warm, delicious breeze. I reheated cooked quinoa and black beans, while steaming spinach, broccoli and red bell peppers. I added a few seasonings and I had a delightful dinner.
You’ve heard it said, “those who fail to plan, plan to fail.”
If I hadn’t been prepared we would have probably gotten take out. We still get our fair share of take out but it is typically bean burritos or hummus and pitas. I know we are wild!
If your new to this pick one or two things to try. When we began eating a plant based diet I would make a large batch of pinto beans and a large batch of brown rice. If you’ve never made beans it is really easy.
Making Beans: A Quick How To
- Buy dried beans (any variety)
- Look through the beans for debris like sticks and rocks. I like to do this by spreading beans out on the counter. I also discard and gnarly looking beans.
- Rinse the beans. I pour them in a large colander to rinse them.
- Put your beans in a large pot and fill with water. Your beans will likely double in size so make sure you have plenty of room. Let the beans soak overnight.
- The next day rinse your beans again, sometimes I skip this rinse, and add clean water to the beans.
- Cook. It will likely take a few hours, depending on the type of beans. Once the beans start to boil turn the heat down so they simmer. I like to place a wooden spoon on the top of my pan to keep the beans from boiling over.
- You can add spices or veggies now. If your not sure how you will be using they beans you may not want to season them. I always add onion and garlic to my pinto beans, for example, but I do not season my black beans.
- The beans are done when they are soft. You can remove a few beans with a spoon and lightly blow on them, if the skin peels away they are done.
Why I love beans?
- Inexpensive
- High Protein
- High Fiber
- Easy to make
This is the chili I made last week. There were two problems with it. First, the recipe only made enough for two adults with a little bit of leftovers. Second, since I used canned beans and didn’t soak and cook them myself they made us, ahem, gassy. But don’t tell anyone because that would be embarrassing. 😉
I’ve revamped that recipe, you need to try this delicious vegan chili!
You can make beans even faster in the Instant Pot!
I am soaking my beans now! I have never cooked beans before , I have always used canned so I am excited to try this! Do you think I could cook them in the crockpot after they soak over night?
Yes, you can cook them in the crock pot! I usually just cook them on the stove but many people love the slow cooker method!
This is a great post, I love beans and Chilli as well, but not the gas lol…
Do you ever freeze some for use later?