5 Cheap Ways to Eat Black Beans Without Feeling Deprived

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Written by Nicole Dean

Tuesday, 25 November 2008 08:28

by NicoleDean

If you have a family budget worked out, you know how hard it is to stick to it without having some real concrete plans and strategies to stretch your money as far as it will go. Usually, the first area we can squeeze a few extra dollars out of our wallets is on groceries. I'd like to introduce you to your new partner in your frugal endeavor, the black bean.

You've come to the end of a long week, and the end of your budget, so which direction should you go when you find yourself lost in the grocery store? Follow me over to the black bean aisle. The first thing you'll notice is the price; can they really be that inexpensive? Yes, and black beans are also low fat, and are even packed with protein, calcium, iron, and fiber. That's a lot of value for your hard earned money. You'll want to start loading up your cart with black beans and keeping a supply on hand. The next step is creating meals that the family will love featuring the fabulous black bean.

1) Quick and Easy Beany Soup

You'll need 1 can each of black beans, garbanzo beans, butter beans, and navy beans (although you really can use any kinds of beans). In a large pot, pour 2 tablespoons olive oil, add 1 cup chopped celery and 1 cup chopped onion. Cook until celery is a little tender. Now add 1 clove garlic, minced or crushed and cook for just a minute. Open and drain, but do not rinse, all four bean cans and pour into pot. Add 1 small can diced tomatoes and 1 small can chicken broth. Simmer slowly for about 20 minutes. It's ready to eat.

2) Loads Of Beans Salad

You'll be choosing your favorite canned beans for this salad, keeping in mind color and texture; favorites like black beans, butter beans, navy beans, kidney beans, waxed beans, and whatever else you like. Drain and rinse all the beans and put them in a large serving bowl. To the beans, add some sweet onion, or green onion including the tops, chopped celery, freshly chopped parsley, maybe some fresh rosemary, or whatever herb you like, and top it all with a little shake or two of a very good vinaigrette salad dressing, I use Paul Newman's Own Balsamic Vinaigrette. You've got yourself a kid-friendly and nutritious salad.

3) Too Easy Black Beans & Taco Sauce

Alright, this one may appear a little strange at first, but my daughter actually sold me on its merits. Drain and rinse your black beans, making sure they're drained well. Put your black beans into a bowl and top them with any favorite taco sauce, even those little leftover packets from take-out. Mix gently and enjoy! You just have to trust me on this one. Of course, you may also use any taco sauce you have in your refrigerator, or even a nice hot salsa will do. But, just a touch, not too much sauce. You want to just flavor your black beans. (Of course you can sprinkle some shredded cheese on top, too.)

4) Black Bean Cottage Cheese Salad

You can throw together a really fast and delicious salad in just a few minutes, with these simple ingredients. Take a salad bowl, add about a 1 cup scoop of cottage cheese, salt to taste, and add some freshly ground black pepper. Thoroughly drain and rinse some canned black beans. Add about 1/2 cup of the rinsed black beans to the top of the cottage cheese. For crunch, dice some celery and put a handful on top of the black beans. This salad is not only yummy, but it's got the nutrition you're looking for, like lots of protein, calcium, iron, potassium, and fiber.

5) Quick Black Bean Burrito

Throwing a burrito together with just a few items in the house is easy when you have a can of black beans in the pantry. Start with a flour or corn tortilla, warm it up if you like, and put it on a plate. Next, drain your canned black beans and rinse them well. Now, just start adding whatever you have. I start by placing some black beans on my tortilla, then adding a little onion, celery, chopped parsley if I have it, some chopped tomatoes, shredded cheese, sour cream or cottage cheese, leftover rice, pieces of fish leftover from last night, and anything else I can see in the refrigerator that needs to be eaten. But, I like the black beans to dominate my burrito, for flavor, nutrition, and cost. Now, just top it with a bit of salsa or taco sauce and you've got yourself a great inexpensive meal

We could go on forever with delicious ways to serve the incredibly nutritious and inexpensive black bean, but you've got the idea now. These five quick and easy black bean recipes are meant to just get you started in producing your very own collection of black bean dishes.

About the Author:

Nicole Dean is the mostly-sane mom and owner of ShowMomtheMoney.com - a fun and informative resource to help moms achieve success working from home. She invites you to learn more ways to save money in her Frugal Moms section. Be sure to sign up for her free lessons for work at home moms.