Beans and Rice for High Protein on a Budget
Quality Protein Intake Less Expensive and Healthier Than All Meats
Apr 12, 2009
The health hazards of heavy meat eating have been publicized increasingly over the past few decades. If you are unaware or in denial about this, Google “why meat is unhealthy”. You can pick and choose among many items posted by several health experts and doctors.
Yet, many still feel the need to satisfy their craving for meat. Adding to this compulsion is the misinformation on meat versus vegetable protein. Simply put, required protein intake, especially animal and dairy protein, has been exaggerated. It has come to light lately that beans and rice, or legumes and grains, are an excellent source of all the protein you'll need.
Making It Delicious
A favorite Cuban dish combines white rice with black beans, sometimes referred to as turtle beans. After cooking the rice and beans separately, pour a liberal amount of black beans over a portion of white rice. Include some of the black bean juice or sauce. But don't over do it. You'll need room for some extra virgin olive oil and fresh lime juice. The ratio of beans to rice is your choice. But 40% beans to 60% rice is a good estimate for starters.
Raw chopped onions or tomatoes are added if desired, according to taste or tolerance. Now pour enough olive oil over the combination to moisten the whole amount. Add a generous squeeze of lime, mix and salt to taste. Use organic salt if possible. Yum, really good, filling, and very healthy. Every Cuban restaurant in Miami, Florida or elsewhere serves this up as a side or main dish.
Even Healthier and Still Delicious
Brown rice is the whole grain version of rice. It is healthier than white rice because it hasn't been milled and processed to have the outer bran removed. It's a little more difficult to cook than white rice. If you click the link at the end of this article, you'll find more on cooking brown rice.
The combination of brown rice and black beans is possible. But a tastier combination is brown rice and garbanzo beans or chick peas. The garbanzo beans and brown rice are mixed after cooking separately as before. All the condiments mentioned earlier can be used. But simply adding only a high quality soy sauce or Bragg's Liquid Aminos seems more appropriate.
Other Types of Beans
Lentils are much faster cooking than all other beans, and they don't need to be soaked. Combined with brown rice, it is a tasty, healthy dish that is lighter than the black bean or garbanzo bean and rice combinations. Mexican cuisine focuses largely on kidney bean and pinto beans combined with white rice. But brown rice is a healthier substitute.
Soy beans are not mentioned in this article as a choice. Much has been discovered over the past few years that point to soy as an unhealthy choice for consumption. Canned beans can be used, if they are without additives, including salt. Especially avoid any MSG or other chemicals. Canned beans are precooked, so all you do is heat them.
Healthiest and Cheapest
Buying bulk organic rice and beans is best. You can purchase weeks worth of bulk raw beans at a time. Soaking and preparing raw beans is bewildering and confusing to many. This is the packaged food society! But more details for brown rice cooking are and bean preparation are here.
According to Dr. Dean Ornish, author of Reversing Heart Disease, regarding vegetable combinations for protein,“. . . to combine foods properly, just eat any grains (rice) and any legumes (beans) sometime during the same day. That's all, folks.”
Resource: The World's Healthiest Foods
 |
