It was cold here in Oklahoma last week. We got our first snow of the season, and school was canceled.
It’s moments like those when I feel like making myself a big pot of pinto beans.
So I did. And they were good.
I love beans.
Many of America’s greatest philosophers also loved beans.
Henry David Thoreau waxed poetic about beans in Walden and was “determined to know beans.”
Bill Foster, of Waco, Texas, launched himself into internet memedom in 2015 when he turned a grammatically creative Thoreauvian phrase in a post on Bush’s Baked Beans’ Facebook Page: “I;m thinking about thos Beans.”
What is it about the humble bean that makes a man determined to know them and prompts his thoughts to turn to them?
I’ll tell you why I personally like beans, and why you should consider making yourself a big pot of them this week.
In Praise of the Humble Bean
Beans offer protein. Despite being a plant, beans pack a protein punch. A cup of beans contains about 15 grams of protein. While the protein in beans isn’t a complete protein, as it lacks sufficient amounts of certain amino acids that kickstart muscle protein synthesis, if you pair them with other foods that are complete proteins, beans are a cheap and easy way to increase your total protein intake for the day.
Beans are a great source of fiber. We’ve talked about the benefits of fiber in a diet previously. Beans are an excellent source of fiber. A cup of beans includes about 15 grams of it (they contain about the same amount of fiber as protein — what a balanced and nutrient-dense food!). That’s half of your daily recommended intake. The high fiber content of beans can help keep blood sugar in check and reduce cholesterol levels. The combination of soluble and insoluble fiber make beans particularly effective at promoting regular poops and supporting gut health.
Beans are loaded with micronutrients. Legumes are excellent sources of magnesium and potassium. They’re also rich in B vitamins, particularly folate, which is crucial for cell growth and DNA synthesis, and are high in iron.
Beans can help you lose weight. The key to losing weight is consuming fewer calories than you burn — achieving a caloric deficit. But being in a caloric deficit can make you hungry, which makes you want to eat more. One thing you can do to mitigate your hunger pangs is to eat food that’s low in calories but makes you feel full for a long time.
Beans fit the bill.
Thanks to their high fiber and protein content, beans help you feel satiated longer, reducing the likelihood of overeating or snacking between meals. Their low glycemic index means they won’t cause rapid spikes in blood sugar, helping maintain steady energy levels throughout the day.
Beans are versatile. You can use a big pot of beans in countless dishes. I eat them as a simple side dish with my morning eggs and at lunch. You can put them on nachos or add them to salads. You can mash your beans, turn them into refried beans, and serve them with tacos. Beans contain multitudes.
Beans are dirt cheap. Inflation has made everything more expensive and driven up everyone’s grocery bill. We could all use more ways to stretch a dollar. Beans are one of the most economical foods out there. Your Great Depression grandpa would approve of your embrace of beans. A four-pound bag of dried pinto beans costs around $5 at Walmart and can yield 51 servings. That’s roughly 10 cents per serving of a protein-, fiber-, and micronutrient-rich food.
How to Make Yourself a Big Pot of Beans This Week
I hope by now you’re “thinking about thos Beans” and want to make your own big pot of beans this week. You won’t regret it.
Canned beans are affordable and can be convenient and tasty. But homemade beans are even cheaper and offer a firmer bean than the softer, sometimes mushy beans that come in cans (I’m a fan of firmer beans myself).
What’s great about beans is they’re easy to cook and pretty hard to screw up. Here’s a set-it-and-forget-it recipe for a big ol’ pot of pinto beans. Make it, and you’ll have beans that will last you through the week.
Ingredients
- 1 pound dry pinto beans
- 1 small onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 bay leaves
- 6 cups of water
Instructions
Do you need to presoak your beans overnight to reduce your farts?
Before we get to how to cook your pinto beans, we need to discuss a hotly debated issue in beandom: should you presoak your beans overnight before cooking them?
The reasoning behind presoaking pinto beans is that it can leach out oligosaccharides; these complex sugars (carbohydrates) cannot be digested by human enzymes and are fermented by gut bacteria, producing gas as a byproduct.
The research on this theory is mixed. Some studies show that presoaking beans can help reduce flatulence, while others say it’s not effective.
Another idea out there is that you can reduce the gassiness that comes with eating beans by simply gradually increasing the number of beans you eat over time so your digestive system can adjust to them. But this theory has been disputed too, as actually not making sense.
Putting reducing farts aside, presoaking beans overnight can help your beans be more tender and can decrease cooking time.
So, it’s up to you to decide whether to presoak your beans. Do it or don’t do it based on your preference.
Now let’s get into the nitty-gritty instructions for making this simple bean recipe:
- Dice and mince garlic
- Rinse and sort the pinto beans, removing any debris or damaged beans.
- Add the beans to the crock pot.
- Add onion, garlic, cumin, salt, and pepper to the crock pot.
- Pour in water, ensuring the beans are covered by about 2 inches of liquid.
- Cook on LOW for 8-9 hours or on HIGH for 4-5 hours until beans are tender.
- Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
This recipe will give you a big pot of pintos that will provide you with cheap, filling, nutritious sustenance for a week, while ever capturing the cream of your thoughts.
This article was originally published on The Art of Manliness.
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