What to do with a can of beans - Food and Health Communications

Using canned beans for meals makes sense for a lot of reasons. For one, they are probably the healthiest protein food you can eat - they are high in fiber, many nutrients and phytochemicals - and they don't contain saturated fat. It is even easy to find canned beans with no added salt. For a second reason, which concerns most, they are low in cost per serving - just pennies an ounce. For a third reason, they are convenient and fast. Our taco recipe was made in less time than it takes to round us up and drive to a restaurant.

But a real drawback - is what to do with them? It is not like you are going to find them extremely palatable to open the can and eat them. But a few easy steps in the kitchen can bring you a feast.

Delicious Vegetarian Tacos:
Bean filling:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 small onion, sliced
1 bell pepper, sliced
juice of 1 lime
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
1 can no-salt-added black beans

cooked rice (2 cups)

10 medium soft taco shells - see notes at end

non-fat sour cream

4 ears of corn, microwaved and kernels sliced off into bowl (or use 2 cups frozen corn kernels and heat according to package directions)

1 sweet potato - bake 5 minutes in the microwave - cut in quarters

1) Saute the garlic, onion and pepper in the olive oil until golden, about 2 minutes. Add the canned beans including the juice. Season with cilantro and lime.
2) Soften the tortillas in the microwave by heating briefly
3) Make the tacos by placing rice, beans, corn and sourcream in the center of the tortilla and rolling up.

Serve the tacos on a plate with corn and sweet potato. Roll and chill extra tacos for later.

We made fresh peaches for dessert - quarter peaches and place in microwave container with lid. Cover and cook for 6 minutes.

Notes about the tortilla shells and other ingredients. We found these tortillas that are low in fat and sodium - that is more important to us to have them low in sodium than it is to have them be whole grain particularly with the fiber found in the beans. Many tortilla shells are very large and very high in sodium so you have to read the labels.

We like the tubes of garlic and cilantro. They are only $3 and they last a long time - we get at least 20 meals out of each one.

Judy Doherty

Judy’s passion for cooking began with helping her grandmother make raisin oatmeal for breakfast. From there she earned her first food service job at 15, was accepted to the world-famous Culinary Institute of America at 18 (where she graduated second in her class), and went on to the Fachschule Richemont in Switzerland where she focused on pastry arts and baking. After a decade in food service for Hyatt Hotels, Judy launched Food and Health Communications to focus on flavor and health. She graduated with Summa Cum Laude distinction from Johnson and Wales University with a BS in Culinary Art, holds a master’s degree in Food Business from the Culinary Institute of America, 2 art certificates from UC Berkeley Extension, and runs a food photography studio where her love is creating fun recipes.

Judy received The Culinary Institute of America’s Pro Chef II certification, the American Culinary Federation Bronze Medal, Gold Medal, and ACF Chef of the Year. Her enthusiasm for eating nutritiously and deliciously leads her to constantly innovate and use the latest in nutritional science and Dietary Guidelines to guide her creativity, from putting new twists on fajitas to adapting Italian brownies to include ingredients like toasted nuts and cooked honey. Judy’s publishing company, Food and Health Communications, is dedicated to her vision that everyone can make food that tastes as good as it is for you.