Posted in Simple and Frugal Living

 

 

I love being frugal and keeping close tabs on my grocery budget and eating beans is one way I keep things in check.  I was inspired to write about how to use a bag of beans when a woman on my message board said she purchased 25#’s of pinto beans and was wanting some ideas on how to use them.

 

Beans are an excellent source of protein.  They are not a complete protein however and need to be coupled with brown rice, cornmeal (as in cornbread or tortillas or tortillas chips, etc), cheese, or meat to get the most benefit from them.

 

I am not a vegetarian but I do advocate eating smaller amounts of meat if you are trying to live on a tight budget.  Meat can be looked at as flavoring instead of the main course.  If you are a vegetarian you will find that many of the bean recipes I share adapt nicely to this way of eating. 

 

Many people know that beans are a good quality food, they have some idea what to do with them but when faced with a bulk bag of them (after all buying them in bulk is how you get the best deal) they are perhaps short on ideas as to what to do with them. 

 

Depending on your family size 25#’s of beans may last you a long time or maybe a real long time..  ~smile~.  Beans, after they are cooked, can quadruple in size.  So keep that in mind.  If you have a small family, think small amounts with the beans, conversely it you have a big family, thing bigger amounts. 

 

Before I get into the nitty gritty I want to say a few things about cooking beans.  Beans don’t have to be soaked.  I know for many people soaking beans is one extra step that is easily forgotten.  For years I never soaked beans.  I simply measured out what I needed, added water and salt and let them cook.  In my constant quest for improving my family’s nutrition I came across a fantastic book, Nourishing Traditions (the author is Sally Fallon).  It is a fascinating, information filled book and well worth purchasing if you are serious about improving your family’s health.   In reading this book I learned about something called ‘phytic acid’.  Phytic acid is naturally found in all grains, beans, nuts and seeds.  Phytic acid blocks the absorption of minerals in your body.  To neutralize phytic acid (it will also make them easier to digest) you need to soak your grains and beans.  I now soak my grains and beans as much as possible.  Sometimes I forget and don’t do this but this is a new step for me and I am learning to make new habits.  Soaking grains and beans also increases their nutritional benefit.  If you would like to read more about this (and other nutritional information) then I highly recommend Sally Fallon’s book Nourishing Traditions. 

 

If you have not purchased your beans yet you may be wondering what the best type of bean to purchase is.  If your budget is tight, going out and buying several types of beans may not be a choice for you.  If I was going to try and work with just one type of bean it would have to be the pinto bean.  They are a mild tasting bean that will adapt well to a variety of uses.   Plus pinto beans can usually be easy to find in 25# bags.  I know locally Costco sells them and so do several grocery stores in my area. Most of my recipes are based on using pinto beans, but other types of beans such as red beans and black beans will work.  I would not use navy beans for these recipes. I never use kidney beans (and therefore have not tested them in my recipes) because I just don’t personally like them, however if you like them, you can try and see how they work for the following recipes. 

 

Beans work wonderfully as a meat stretcher.  You can add cooked beans to cooked hamburger to make it go farther.  You can then add this to just about any type of recipe calling for cooked hamburger: tacos, spaghetti, soups, etc.

 

Here is what you do: the evening before you need the beans, put 2 cups of beans in a pan and cover with lots of water. Leave to soak. The next day dump the water out and cover the beans again with water and add 2t of salt.  Cook beans for 2 to 4 hours or until they are soft. 

 

Now cook up 1 pound of hamburger (add onion or any other spices you want).  When the hamburger is cooked add 2 to 3 cups cooked beans.  You can heat this up and even mash the beans if you want to.  

 

If you are going to use the mixture for tacos then add 3 to 4T taco seasoning and a little water and let this simmer.

 

If you are using it for spaghetti sauce, prepare your sauce, add the meat/bean mix and season your sauce.  Serve over whole wheat pasta.

 

If using in a soup then make the soup according to your recipe and add the meat/bean mix when the recipe calls for hamburger.

 

You can also divide this into meal size portions and freeze it.  Beans freeze beautifully.

 

Other Bean Helps

 

Here are some bean recipes that you can incorporate into your daily diet.  Some of these bean recipes call for beans other than pinto beans.  However you can substitute pinto beans in any of the recipes for whatever bean is called for.

 

Refried Beans and Refried Bean Soup

 

Red Beans and Rice

 

Chili & Chili Bean Soup

 

Italian Pinto Beans

 

Ranch Beans

 

Yummy Pinto Beans

 

Pork Chops and Pintos

 

Delicious Bean Burgers

 

Black Bean Sloppy Joes

 

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Crystal Miller

 

Crystal and her husband Tobin, along with 6 of their 8 homeschooled children make their home on 18 acres in SW Washington State.   Crystal enjoys caring for her home and family and her farm.  You can visit Crystal’s website: The Family Homestead  or Crystal’s Country Store where she sells her own goat milk soap, ebooks and more!