The Benevolent Bean
The quick answer: Legumes are underutilized value champions, offering protein, fiber, and a host of nutrients. Enjoy them most days, in a soup, stew, casserole, or just sprinkled on a salad.
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The Healthy Change for this week advises eating legumes most days. Before I introduce a book on the subject, let’s look at the twisted trail of the author Ancel Keys, a scientist who shaped the American view of heart disease. Keys, more than any other person, sold the misguided mantra known as the Lipid Theory of Heart Disease, which posited that coronary heart disease (CHD) could be prevented by eating a low-fat diet, particularly a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol.
This conclusion was based on his Seven Countries Study but it was later suspected he chose countries that supported his preconceived notion that dietary fat was the culprit. In retrospect, choosing different countries would have given a different answer. Due to Keys’ persistent efforts—he’s often portrayed as an academic bully—the focus of CHD research turned to cholesterol. It helped that a cheap test for blood cholesterol had been developed—today most everyone knows their cholesterol number and many believe that lowering cholesterol is good for their health. It’s a curiosity of medicine that the available test can shape the treatment of disease, and cholesterol-lowering drugs grew into an enormously profitable business, though more and more their use is being questioned.
Keys later retired to a charming fishing village on the Italian coast where he became a proponent of the Mediterranean diet which, due to the consumption of olive oil and fish, is low in saturated fats. He even wrote a book on the diet that became a best seller. Unfortunately, the cholesterol adventure wasted 50 years in the war against CHD. Why did I tell this story of science gone awry? Because it reminds that science is often wrong, and we are wise to consider other venerable sources of knowledge, including tradition and scripture. We’ll invoke all three in this post.
Scripture
Do you remember the food experiment of Daniel and his three friends in the Old Testament? It may have been the first use of classic experimental design. Taken captive to Babylon for training, Daniel and his friends were offered the rich food and drinks served at the king’s table. Daniel demurred, proposing a 10-day experiment wherein he and his friends would eat the simple food known as pulse, and drink only water. Pulse is a traditional dish of cooked edible seeds, usually leguminous, such as lentils, chickpeas, and, perhaps, foods grown from those seeds. This plant-based diet was successful as Daniel and friends were later found to look better and test wiser than those eating the king’s fare. Daniel was wise beyond his years.
Wisdom sometimes fails. Do you remember Esau selling his birthright to brother Jacob for a “mess of pottage”? It’s another legume story—the dish was likely lentils, plus some bread.
Tradition
The good Lord, it seems, looks after the poor. In much of the world, the humble legumes on which Daniel excelled are the affordable fare. The prosperous can get their protein from animal sources, but by tradition the poor must eat the plants at hand—which are actually healthier. In the post on protein, it was suggested we get 2/3 of our protein from plants, and just 1/3 from animal sources, which is roughly the reverse of how we currently eat. Have you considered how this protein is also the source of plant life—legumes, whole grains, seeds and nuts?
In our home, the beautiful wife's most recent dinner was a pot of split peas cooked with a ham bone from the freezer. (Recipe to follow.) There is a traditional method for cooking legumes: To the legumes you add three savory vegetables (onions, carrots, and celery) and then three spices (parsley, thyme, and bay leaf) plus salt, pepper, and perhaps a little garlic, then a few bones or a bit of meat (often from the humble pig). Legumes vary by region, there are thousands of varieties, but most dishes follow this formula. In Provence, cassoulet is a traditional dish of white beans with savory meats, vegetables and spices, topped with a breaded crust.
People are different and for some, certain beans bring the bane of flatulence. To give this post a high tone, we simply refer you to this blog for information. There is an OTC pill that provides the enzyme to prevent this problem that some may distain as it has a lowbrow name: Beano.
Science
We return now to the errant scientist Ancel Keys and his book on legumes. Titled The Benevolent Bean, it was first published in 1967 but is now out of print. It’s a charming introduction to legumes and full of recipes. Unlike most vegetables, beans are rich in protein. Keys suggests we double the 7-8 pounds (dry weight) we consume each year, which aligns with this week’s Healthy Change and the USDA's 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. (The USDA sometimes has the right answer.)
Legumes are not complete proteins (meaning they don’t contain all 8 or 9 essential amino acids) but combining beans with another food group completes the protein profile. For example, beans are eaten with corn tortillas in Latin American, or with pasta in Italy (pasta e fagioli), or as tofu and rice in Asia. Besides nutrients and fiber, there’s another benefit to dried beans—shelf life; they’ll last years if properly stored.
Redemption is found in unusual places. It’s easy to dislike Ancel Keys because of his dominating role in the cholesterol debacle that badly delayed the battle against heart disease. Yet I found the book The Benevolent Bean, quite charming. What made the difference? The great scientist wrote the book with his wife, Margaret, and the help of their daughters and that, I think, made all the difference. It's another reminder that the women who cook should be involved in our nation's food decisions.
Budget Wisdom
The two keys to healthier eating also offer the best value. The keys: 1) eat whole foods, and 2) do your own cooking. In the last century, older women passing away took their knowledge of cookery with them—their children, seduced by modernity, weren’t interested in olden ways. Taken in totality, this is a great loss to our planet. If we find it difficult to cook nutritious meals of whole foods, the answer is to reclaim this lost wisdom. Perhaps the book clubs, so popular with young mothers, can be expanded to cooking clubs. I saw a program last night where women got together to visit and assemble food dishes for the week.
A reader referred me to a charming book The Pleasures of Cooking for One by Judith Jones. Jones was the editor that recovered The Dairy of Anne Frank from the reject pile, and edited all the works of Julia Child and James Beard, and many others. Though her style of cooking is a little fancy for most, I admired her reverence for the kitchen art, and her determination to carry on making memorable meals after the death of her husband. In this regard, Judith Jones is a beckoning light upon a hill.
Please comment
How can we recover the art and discipline of cooking nutritious meals that fit the family budget?
Wednesday, July 27, 2011 at 10:29PM | by Skip Hellewell | 21 Comments | 3 References | Share Article | Email Article
Reader Comments (21)
i try to view every meal and snack time (i have 1 and 3 year old boys) as an opportunity for nutrition. i'm trying to teach them that we respect our bodies, and that we only eat things that help make us healthy, strong, and give us energy. this has helped to eliminate the junk that was once bought, and brought into our home... that of course would get eaten. we of course still eat our treats every once in a while, but eliminating the cost of nonsense filler food, and just focusing on fresh, nutritious food has helped inspire me to cook better with better ingredients.
Funny, like Megan (above), I also have 1 and 3 year old boys.
I personally think that if we, as a family, slow down to focus on the things that are important to us, we can be better at enjoying them. In this case, eating together. It seems like families are so busy running here, taking this class, participating in this activity, that they do not make time for one another and may not eat very well because of this. I know my boys are young, but something I'm already working on is to make sure we all sit down together as a family and enjoy dinner. Often breakfast too. I stay home with my boys, so I eat 3 meals a day with them, but we try to make sure we eat breakfast and dinner with my husband included. Allowing more time for these activities allows me to have more time to cook (husband can play with the boys while I cook). Having fewer outside activities allows us more money to spend on groceries. Healthy, beneficial groceries such as beans. I have a feeling I will be making a lot of dishes with beans this fall and winter.
Another great post Skip!
Hey guess what? I have an almost 3 year old (next month) and an almost 1 year old (Sept.) boy as well.
Blogging has done much to promote the movement of cooking for one's family again. The internet and my favorite food blogs are the first place I turn to when looking for meal ideas. My favorite food blogs, including this one, have done so much to inspire me to feed my family healthy meals at home. I'd say we're successful at least 80% of the time which is pretty dang good. A friend and I regularly post on facebook what we're feeding our families for dinner and ask what our friends are feeding theirs. It's a great source of dinner ideas and gives people a challenge as well. I also tweet about dinners I've made and link to recipes and sources. Blogging and social media has given family dinner a second chance and I think we're really starting to see progress.
Personally, I think WOW Living is one of the best informational blogs out there as to the "what" and "why" nutrition is so important. I especially love the historical backgrounds that you give. My husband is so much more willing to try new (i.e.) healthy things like natural peanut butter and legumes if I can tell him why we need to eat this way and how people used to eat and what changed. For example, we love peanut butter and have long been JIF loyalists. But after your post on hydrogenated oils and fats I bit the bullet and made the change to natural. The 2 year old complained at first but now he doesn't know the difference. The husband hasn't complained once.
Thanks for doing what you do. WOW Living is one of my very favorite blogs and it has changed the way we eat as a family for the better.
Raised by home cooks, I was astounded as an adult to find out so many people of my generation simply didn't know how to cook from scratch. I think it is THE number one way to reduce obesity, decrease CHD, Type II, and so many other ills.
My father, a scriptorial scholar, makes the Jacob and Esau pottage once a year for a specific event (although we eat lentils/legumes regularly.) I have to say, it's really delicious, no wonder Esau gave up his birthright, haha! I've introduced my family to the tradition I grew up with--the same lentil stew you described in this post. It's a lovely and hearty meal for a cold Fall or Winter day.
Although dried beans are superior in texture, canned beans are one of my short cuts for making filling and nutritious meals on weekdays. Legumes are a working mom's best friend. A "taco soup" with chicken broth, leftover bits of chicken, kidney beans and black beans, with vegetables is one of the fastest meals to pull together. This month's Cook's Illustrated reports that you can actually freeze beans soaked for 8 hours/overnight in Ziploc bags for use at a later date (cutting down some of the prep time dried beans require.)
Nothing says "home" to me like a ham bone simmering in a pot of lentils.
I have a question that could possibly be a topic for a future post? I've read someplace that one of the reasons that people are now taking glucosamine and chondroitin supplements is that those molecules are largely missing in the modern diet because we're no longer cooking the bones of the animals that we do eat. One of the worst things to come out of meat being plentiful and inexpensive is that we no longer utilize all the portions of animals we consume, including making our own stocks and using bones for flavor. The lack of natural sources of glucosamine and chondroitin could be related to the modern rise of joint and arthritis issues. It makes logical sense to me, but I'd like to hear from you on the facts.
hi Skip,
As a child of the 70's, being raised on cookie crisp cereal, tastycakes, and TV dinners, it has been a process to educate myself about food. I try to show my children that cooking and preparing food isn't a means to an end but an enjoyable part of our family life that I hope they will remember. Thank you so much for your blog and informative posts.
Carina, you asked about the common use of glucosamine/chondroitin supplements to treat joint pain, and whether these joint problems are due to some deficiency from not cooking and eating the bones of animals as was done anciently.
This is a great question and touches on three issues:
1. What in the modern lifestyle causes joint problems?
2. Do the glucosamine/chondroitin supplements work?
3. Would returning bone-sourced stock to our diet help joint problems?
Here is the quick answer, by the numbers above:
1. We don't know what causes joint problems, for sure. Injuries are a big factor, especially with knee pain, but perhaps our low level of physical activity, combined with poor nutrition, and stressful living also make us vulnerable. One thing we do know: You want to do all you can to promote strong, healthy joints.
2. The science for glucosamine/chondroitin supplements is a gray area. Studies done by the supplement companies say they work; studies by independent sources say the benefit is limited. The independent studies are of a poorer quality due to lack of funding—we just don't fund enough research into non-drug remedies. My wife had a painful hip joint for many months and her orthopedic MD suggested glucosamine/chondroitin supplements and she got better. I don't know if it was the supplement, or just the body doing it's natural healing, but she's a believer.
3. Would eating stock made from animal marrow, cartilage, and bones strengthen our bones? Per #2 above, this research has not been funded enough to get a clear answer. So, the answer is "maybe". There is a long tradition that this practice aids the immune system in overcoming infections (think of chicken soup, the "Jewish penicillin") and other ills so I believe there is a benefit. And there are other benefits of course, including better tasting food, and better use of the family food dollars.
I'd make a post of this if there were more definitive answers, but like much of tradition we just have to use our best judgment. Best to you.
Carina, thanks for your note. Want to share the recipe for your father's Jacob/Esau pottage?
Canned beans are very handy; they make adding some kidney or garbanzo beans to salads so easy. But I tried canned black beans with my home made tortillas and the flavor of the can carried over. Incidentally, even though it was my first time making tortillas, I found them much tastier than those from the store.
Julielynn, child of the '70s, you are the prime example of the nutrition reformation: Raised on junk, but moved to discover a better way to eat and live. Best wishes for your success.
Skip,
Thank you for all of the work you do on this blog! I found it recently and have been so enjoying everything you have written.
As a family we have found that making our own flour tortillas and refried beans are so much more tasty that anything that we buy in the store. It is quite simple also.
Cook your pinto beans by soaking over night or do the quick soak method by boiingl for two minutes and take off heat for an hour or so. Then cook the beans at a simmer for a couple of hours.
3 cups cooked pinto beans
1 cup diced onion
1 clove garlic, minced or use the garlic press
1 tsp. salt
1 TBS oil
Heat the oil in a large frying pan on medium heat and saute the onion, garlic and salt in the oil until the onions are tender. While those are cooking, mash the beans with a potato masher. Add the beans to the pan. Add a small amount of water to make the beans the consistency you like.
I would love to have the Jacob/Esau recipe and the recipe for the corn tortillas also. Thank you!
Along the lines of what Kalli mentioned, so many of us children of the junky 70s and 80s are indeed forging communities of eager, like-minded women--partly in person, partly in the blogosphere. In our efforts to cook tasty and healthy meals for ourselves and our families, we discover and forward recipes and blog posts, and then often post about our own successes and disasters. The Internet has facilitated the creation of a new kind of "neighborhood" cooking club! Thank you so much for all your posts. I discuss them often with my like-minded mom friends. (my kids used to be 3 and 1)
Skip,
I have also been reading your posts since the beginning and have learned so much. A few years ago, when my six kids were younger, the stay at home moms in the neighborhood organized a recipe exchange/lunch group. We would get together once a week, rotating the host house, and cook for each other so we could sample the recipes the hostess was submitting that week. It was a great way to learn more recipe ideas and was great reason to get together. It really made us appreciate the joy of cooking and good conversation. Thanks again for the post.
Gina, the recipe exchange lunch group is a super idea. So great that it combines the pleasure of being together with the sharing of cooking information and skills. How often would you meet? Thank you.
Cheryl, using the "cloud" to rediscover good cooking and share recipes and experiences is inspired. Can you imagine a master blog that coordinates and encourages local groups? We all should think this over--perhaps there could be a post to light the fire. Best to you..
Now this is getting a little weird....I also have 1 year old and 3 year old boys. Haha! Anyway, really appreciate this post on beans. I make a vegetarian white chili once a week that the kids and husband love, and a curry vegetable lentil dish that is amazing and super healthy. Both are staples at our house. When I got married I knew I wanted to be the wife and mom who cooked delicious, healthy meals every night for my family, but getting there has definitely been a journey and sometimes a challenge. Mark Bittman's "how to cook everything" and "how to cook everything vegetarian" have been key to my cooking success. He has fantastic recipes that are simple while seeming somewhat gourmet, and many are very healthy. I also love some foodie apps like epicurious.
Thanks, Skip!
"How can we recover the art and discipline of cooking nutritious meals that fit the family budget?"
Skip, to answer your question, I believe the best and most effective way to encourage nutritious budget-friendly meals is to educate. That might sound over-simplified but it's true! Nutritious meals are the most cost-effective. Fresh garlic costs nothing compared to the pre-chopped version; growing your own food costs next to nothing and technology has allowed nearly every region of the world to be cultivatable; water is cheaper than soda (in North America).
My husband and I are Latter-day Saints and follow the Word of Wisdom as our family has interpreted it. When we got married, we read through the WOW and chose how our family would follow it - caffeinated drinks or not, etc. In it, we are told to eat meat sparingly and that's something we have taken to heart. And guess what? Eating less meat is CHEAPER!
My farming family made and grew a lot of their own foods but that meant that we did things in bullk... not conducive to a family of 2 and they didn't explore a lot of foods from other cultures. Since making the decision to eat less meat and committing myself to cooking meat only 3 days a week, I have discovered beans and legumes. Both those things costs next to nothing.
When you educate people on the value of a balanced diet, they see they can easily balance the budget. I have seen this and I try to show my friends that eating a varied diet is exciting and nutritious and affordable.
In short: information, dedication & experimentation will lead to a happy diet.
Skip,
I think a lot of the problem with less home-cooked meals has to do with broken families. I grew up with a hard-working single mom. I've been told (but was too young to remember) that when she was a stay-at-home mom she was always cooking, canning, gardening, and baking. But all I remember are frozen pizzas and fast food. Can you blame her? With seven kids to raise alone she was exhausted and didn't have the time or energy to make homemade meals.
The few meals I remember were made on Sundays and holidays. They were good, but still not always the healthiest because she was really trying to give us a treat of a yummy meal. I struggle the most with knowing how to use beans. They were never used when I was younger, except for green beans. I'm just not familiar with how to use them or what I can add them to.
I have wanted to add bean dishes to my meals but lack good recipes. I would love it if everyone could share their bean/legume recipes!
I'd love recommendations of good food blogs that regularly present healthy options (especially vegetarian main dishes or dinners without a lot of meat) - Kalli, please share your favorite go-to blogs with us! I'd like to include more beans in my family's diet, but I don't know where to start. I never ate a bean until I was out of college! (I grew up in a household where we ate a lot of meat and not a lot of vegetables or fruits.) I've been very inspired by your blog, Skip, but I'd love to have more recipes to go along with the challenges. It's one thing to understand the principals of heathy eating, but it's not easy to change your family's diet without some new recipes to replace the old unhealthy ones you rely on, especially when you're feeding young children who are picky about trying new things.
Amy: We'll work on adding more recipes to go with the challenges, this seems a popular need. It was our original intent to have many links to food blogs but it's hard to find blogs that are really healthy. Request to all readers: If you know of any, please share and we'll post them. The two food blogs that have the best writing (from the point of science) are written for Paleo eaters (hunter-gatherer food; rich in meat but low in whole grains). Best to you, Skip
Sometimes I follow this blog and I find this post interesting:
http://wholenewmom.com/recipes/how-to-degas-beans/
I've not tried the suggested herbs but I plan to because some members of my family have a terrible gas problem with beans.
Has anyone else heard of this or used it?
Thanks
Hmmmmmmm. I think I'll make some hummus and pick some cucumbers. NO. No cans allowed here.
Pressure pot chick peas.PEELED .