Kidney Bean Garlic and Herb Bean Dip

I feel like I post a lot of bean dips, but I just love them! They’re like chili, in that you can put in almost anything and call it bean dip. (In fact, chili is bean dip in a way, isn’t it?)

Well. I wasn’t too hungry, but I wanted a little som’m som’m. I wanted cheese, but not a lot of fat. So I used Garlic and Herb Laughing Cow, which is an amazing 35 calories, given the rich and creamy texture it added to my bean dip!

This recipe is for one person:
2/3 cup cooked Kidney Beans
1 Garlic and Herb Laughing Cow slice
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 chopped mushrooms
Dash of salt, red pepper flakes, and anything else you desire

Saute onions a minute or so, add mushrooms. Saute until onions are translucent. Add beans and mush with a fork until no full beans are left. Add spices and laughing cow cheese.

Eat with veggies or pita chips!

-Beth

Dip into a healthier diet! – Pinto Bean Dip

This blog post is dedicated to Suban Nur Cooley, who is trying to change her eating habits, or anyone trying to cut their calories, add protein and fiber to their diet and eat more veggies! For those of you who don’t eat a lot of meat, or even a lot of veggies, this may be the miracle food you’ve been waiting for. (Well, one of them.)

Suban Nur Cooley

The pinto beans in this dip are delicious and super good for you. Beans are comparable to meat in terms of calories, but they’ve got a higher water content and more fiber, making you feel fuller, longer. (Source: WebMD) This means you’ll eat less, but you won’t feel deprived. It’s like magic.

But the actual dip is only half the amazingness of this dip. Unless your Kim, you probably don’t eat dips by themslves.  This is where the veggies come in. I love to dip really any vegetable in this dip – broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, bell peppers, mushrooms…

By the end of this meal, I’ve had loads of veggies and beans, and if you dip bread into it, grains too! Well balanced and FULL.

I never make a bean dip the same twice, but here’s what in this bean dip:

1 1/2 cups cooked pinto beans

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 cloves chopped and sauteed garlic

1 tablespoon olive oil

peppercorn and a dash of salt

You will need: a food processor

If you’re using fresh pinto beans, soak beans 8 hours, cook on medium high for 45 minutes.

OR

Just open a can of pinto beans.

BUT,

canned beans are very high in sodium, so if you want to reduce the sodium content, rinsing your beans in a coriander can get rid of 40% of the sodium. FYI, fresh beans are quite low in sodium (2-10 mg in a 1/2 cup of cooked beans; Source: 3 Fat Chicks)

ANYWAY.

Chop and saute garlic in frying pan with a little oil. Put all ingredients into grinder. Grind.

If it’s not liquidy enough, add more lemon juice, oil, water, or even milk. You could also add sour cream or tahini to make it smoother and creamier. You could also add salsa… Sorry, not I’m just thinking out loud.

ANOTHER BUT:

If you’re trying to eat less fat, try adding things other than the sour cream and tahini. I would stick with the lemon juice or wter. If you’re looking for more flavor, though, add spices like Cajun, garlic powder, chili powder, hot sauces….

English Beans on Toast

I always look forward to the international aisle at Meijer. How different my life would be without having ever tried Weetabix, Bonne Maman Fig Preserves, or known of the existence of this German mustard.

I’m a big believer in trying new things. There so many types of food out there, who knows what we’re all missing! Marmite, for example… Marmite is similar to Vegemite, a very popular thing to eat in Australia. I won’t talk about Marmite too much in this post because I will be blogging about it later this week. (Look out for that!) I’ll just say that I have not yet discovered HOW to like Marmite. That may sound like a weird sentence, but if you’ve ever tasted, or smelled Marmite, you understand.

I love British things especially, and I’ve always wanted to try “authentic” beans on toast, a breakfast or snack food in England. So I bought Heinz Beans with Tomato Sauce, in the British section of the Meijer international aisle. At the risk of sounding like a hypocrite, I do love trying new things, but at the same time I tend to gravitate towards my comfort food (yogurt and fruit for breakfast almost EVERY day – it’s a weakness of mine), so the beans sat in our pantry for a couple weeks, before I forced myself to SAY NO to yogurt and eat beans on toast.

English Beans on Toast

I don’t know why I waited so long; I knew I’d like it. Which I DID. Beans in a tomato sauce are great! We’re used to our baked beans, which are in tomato based sauce, but it’s almost a bbq sauce, whereas this is just a light tomato taste. I ate mine with over-easy eggs also on the toast, and it was DELICIOUS. Because of the tomato sauce, it’s easier to eat it with a fork instead of your hands.

What I thought: It’s great! For an entire traditional English breakfast, try it with sliced tomatoes, sausage and tea (black pudding is optional).

-Beth