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At the market: Beans are available dried or canned. We like canned beans becuase they are easy to use. Both organic and low-sodium varieties are available. Canned beans are already cooked.
Storage: Use canned beans within a year of their purchase.
Preparation: Drain and rinse canned beans for at least one full minute.
Soups and Stews: Add a cup of nutrition to your favorite soups or stews by adding 1 can (15 oz.) of white beans, drained and rinsed, to your recipe.
Sloppy Joes and chili: Next time you're making Sloppy Joes or chili, try a new twist, instead of using all meat, go half and half - 1/2 meat and 1/2 white beans. It will enhance the flavor and the nutrition too.
Greek bean salad: Combine 1 can (15 oz) of white beans, drained and rinsed, with 1 cup of diced cucumber, 1 cup of chopped seeded tomatoes, 1/3 cup dice red onion, 1/4 cup diced black olives, and 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese. In a small bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup olive oil and 2 Tbsp red wind vinegar, pour over salad and toss gently.
Better than Hummus Dip
Ingredients:
1 can (15 oz)white beans, drained and rinsed
2 Tbsp mayonnaise
1 Tbsp capers
1 Tbsp chopped fresh basil
1 Tbsp chopped green onions
1 garlic clove, minced
1 Tbsp lemon juice
Salt and pepper, to taste
Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a food processor/blender and process until smooth. Serve in bowl with veggie crudités (carrots, green beans, cherry tomatoes, asparagus, cauliflower).
About the Authors: Cheryl Tallman and Joan Ahlers are sisters, the mothers of five children, and founders of Fresh Baby.
Raised by parents who love fresh foods and entertaining, their mom, a gourmet cook, ensured that they were well-equipped
with extraordinary skills in the kitchen. Both with long track records of business success, they decided to combine their
skills in the kitchen with their knowledge of healthy foods and children to create Fresh Baby. Cheryl and Joan put a modern
twist on the conventional wisdom that when you make it yourself, you know it's better. Their goal at Fresh Baby is to make
the task of raising a healthy eater a little bit easier for all parents. Visit them online at www.FreshBaby.com and subscribe
to their Fresh Ideas newsletter to get monthly ideas, tips and activities for developing your family's healthy eating habits!
While there are many reasons for teaching kids to cook -- less expensive than eating out, preserves family heritage, etc, the most important
reason is that by teaching your child to cook, you're giving him a better chance to be a healthy grown-up. Enabling your child with the ability
to appreciate freshness and to transform ingredients into tasty foods opens their eyes to making wiser choices about what to eat...