Kris Carr

Kris Carr

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My Crazy Sexy Guide to Beans

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Hi Beautiful,

Does this charming chant ring a bell? Beans, beans, the magical fruit. The more you eat, the more you… toot! Whether this tune gives you the giggles or makes you blush, you get the point: beans wake up your gut!

Beans are an essential component to any plant-based diet.

They’re loaded with protein and fiber and add heft and heartiness to any meal. Did you know that there are more than 800 varieties of beans? Holy abundance!

What you may not realize is that the more you eat beans, the better you feel. And there are many things you can do to make friends with this fibrous food if you find that they cause some digestive discomfort. (Get loads of tips here!) Since I’m such a huge fan of these thrifty, nourishing and tasty members of the plant family, I feel a little education on this pantry staple is in order. And I turned to my handy-dandy cookbook, Crazy Sexy Kitchen for some assistance… Let’s start with the basics.

 

How do you choose the best beans?

Dried or canned?

I buy dried beans in bulk (saves money!) and store them in mason jars. But it’s always good to have a few cans around for those times when you haven’t soaked your beans and are in a rush. When buying canned beans look for BPA-free products without preservatives, such as calcium disodium EDTA. Also, try to use low-sodium varieties and make sure to rinse them well (no need to pickle yourself!).

Bonus tip: Brands like Eden add kombu (seaweed) to their canned beans, which make these tasty dudes easier to digest.

How to prep for ultimate pep!

First, let’s learn about enzyme inhibitors and phytic acid. Beans, seeds, and legumes contain enzyme inhibitors, which delay germination (when a plant emerges from its seed and sings, “Hello, world!”). In nature, rain triggers germination. If we eat these foods before soaking, then it hasn’t “rained” yet and the enzyme inhibitors and phytic acid are still intact. Who cares? Your belly!

Enzyme inhibitors block and bind with our digestive and metabolic enzymes. What are they? Digestive enzymes help to break down our food, while metabolic enzymes support every amazing function in our bodies. Bottom line, we don’t want to mess with them. Soaking beans triggers germination which neutralizes enzyme inhibitors.

Phytic acid in the body decreases our ability to absorb key minerals, such as calcium, iron, magnesium, and zinc. These minerals are crucial for peppy health. Soaking our beans until they germinate activates the chemical phytase, which is an enzyme that neutralizes phytic acid. Voilà!

How to cook your beans

Step 1: Draw Your Beans A Bath

Place them into a bowl filled with water. Swish the little suckers around, strain, and repeat until the water is clear. This helps to remove dusty residue and the occasional dead bug (ew!), not to mention stones. Yup, from time to time you might find a little rock in your batch. Protect your choppers with a quick sift.

Step 2: Soak, Soak, Soak!

As we just mentioned, soaking your beans overnight will greatly reduce enzyme inhibitors and phytic acid, making them easier to digest (less toots!). Just be sure to use fresh water for cooking. Even if you can only soak them for a few hours, it helps and your body will thank you. And get this: soaking beans for around 18 hours can reduce phytic acid by 50 to 70 percent. Dang! Plus, soaking your beans first will reduce cooking time.

Bean Bonus: Adding a piece of kombu (seaweed) increases the effectiveness of this process.

Step 3: Boil, Baby!

Just about all dry beans have a similar cooking method. Start with cold water and beans in a large pot. Bring to a boil and then turn down to a simmer. Cover the pot, leaving the lid tilted just enough to allow some steam to escape. Beans are done when they are tender and the skin is still intact.

Tip time: What’s Up With Salt?

Salt pulls moisture from beans, so wait until they’re almost tender then add salt to the cooking water. You’ll avoid adding too much sodium, which would just get lost during the cooking process.

Your Ultimate Bean Chart

Get your bean facts at a glance, plus cooking tips with your fun and fabulous Crazy Sexy Guide to Beans!

CrazySexyGuidetoBeans-Infographic

Cha-cha-cha-CHILI!

Crazy Sexy Bean Chili

Ready to get your legume on? Try Crazy Sexy Kitchen’s out-of-this-world Crazy Sexy Bean Chili!

So tell me, what bean-tastic ways do you enjoy this magical plant? Share your favorite bean recipe or cooking/storing/buying tip in the comments below!

Peace & fabulous fiber,

 
 
Add a comment
  1. Adena says:

    We eat a lot of beans in our household, love them! What do you think about using a pressure cooker for cooking them?

  2. Jenny says:

    Adding a splash of vinegar to beans when you are ready to eat them, greatly reduces tummy problems.

  3. alexandra says:

    In the UK we had a rhyme too……… Beans beans good for your heart the more you eat the more you fart!!!!!! Excellent post.x

  4. Ironically I just shared this recipe with my patients at our clinic last week and it was a hit! I definitely have a responsibility to point out the important health benefits to eating more (or less of) certain foods but the one overwhelming positive response I get over-and-over is “thanks” for the recipes I share. With each nugget of nutritional wisdom I like giving my patients somewhere to start and always include a recipe (or two)! Crazy Sexy Kitchen is my go-to! We love you Kris!
    Hugs & Unicorns,
    The Whole Gang at LeBlanc Spine & Nerve

  5. Danielle says:

    My favorite bean, adzuki, the smaller the bean the more the protein!

  6. Melinda D says:

    I am just simple with them. Cook dried dark kidney beans. I store them in the fridge and when I am getting ready to eat them, I add salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste before reheating them in the microwave. Sometimes I will add a small dollop of sour cream.

    • ronda beamer says:

      Melinda, I was reading all the responses and I came to the end of yours where you mention using a microwave. UGH! Microwaves are toxic -to food & humans, and research shows they totally zap any energy and nutrients right out of food & emit unhealthy radiation . If you are on a healthy path, I suggest you get rid of the microwave. don’t nuke your food….just saying

      • Caryn says:

        Please post what “research” supports this.

        • Emily says:

          I’d be much easier if you googled this information. It has been, for the most part, common knowledge, for quite some time now. The molecular structure of the food changes in a microwave and is definitely not health promoting at all.

  7. Jennifer says:

    Thank you so much for this bean guide Kris! I cook beans weekly and have never soaked because I thought the only benefit was to reduce cooking time. Will start soaking my beans today!! So helpful. 😀

    • Jenny Mittens says:

      I soak mine for 2-days and all the gassy-ness goes away with water. One thing she forgot to mention is when you soak them, to get rid of the gas causing enzymes, dump that soak water out and rinse several times and the refill new soak water – several times throughout the whole soak process. If you don’t dump the water and rinse them then all the whatever it is that causes gas, just soaks back into the bean.

  8. Kathleen says:

    Hi Kris,

    I absolutely love your positive attitude and have benefited much from your inspiration to eat a plant-based diet and not let disease be the ruler in my life! I do not have cancer but I do have Celiac. I have followed a gluten-free plant-based diet for about two years now and I have tried to eat beans every which way I can. I soak overnight, rinse, and boil and I use seaweed in the soaking water,
    I have even bought Eden brand beans but no matter what I do, beans cause me much digestive distress. I believe it is most likely due to the fact that my intestines are worn down from years of poor eating and not realizing I had Celiac.

    All that said, do you have any suggestions for substitutes for the beans? I eat Quinoa, Rice, and other grains as well as a variety of veggies and fruits but would like to have more variety in the base foods for my recipes since beans are out and so are any grains with gluten. I can tolerate small amounts of Lentils and Kidney beans but more than 4 or 5 and I am in pain.

    Thanks!

    Kathleen

  9. Debi Winfield Walters says:

    I saute garlic, onion, potatoe, celery, carrot in olive oil, season with pepper, crushed pepper flakes, add broth of choice, cooked bean of choice (I like a white bean) & kale. Enjoy :)))

  10. Rick says:

    What about frozen beans?

  11. Janey says:

    White and Black bean Risotto

    3 tblsp EVOO
    2 tblsp butter
    1 medium onion
    1 cup Aborio Rice
    White beans
    Black beans
    About 6 cups Chicken Broth

    Cook onion in Olive Oil and butter until translucent…add rice and cook for a few minutes…add Chicken Broth one cup at a time until all absorbed add beans..cook for another 5 or ten minutes and Walla!..You can add chicken to make it a meal if you like.

  12. Nancy says:

    What about Lectins!!!!!!!!!

  13. Jaroslava Kostkova says:

    OK, this is cool. How did Kris know I was in need of a guide to beans? That’s right – she reads minds. Thank you Kris…fabulous as always.

  14. Amy Valentino says:

    Hi Kris,

    What about Lectins?

    Amy

    • And what about phytates, which bind certain minerals and amino acids? To what degree does soaking and sprouting degrade them? Does it depend on how much phytase enzyme to break down phytic acid is in the bean? Do different beans have different amounts of phytase and phytate and different optimal pH levels for degrading it?

      Lectins do cause the blood to get sticky, which can help cancer cells hide, right? Does cooking degrade lectins? Do some beans have more lectins than others?

      I love beans and I love to do research and will share some responses from scientists when the research is ready for prime time. Amy, thanks for opening up a can of …

    • Jenny Mittens says:

      I’m curious about this too. I was reading that lectins can punch holes in your intestines.
      They’re all over quinoa – I did not realize they’re in beans too! D=

      • Kris Carr says:

        I ran this question by our Crazy Sexy RD, Jen Reilly. Here’s our combined response:

        Phytates have the potential to give beans a bad rap. Phytates occur in various amounts among all plant foods, but especially beans, nuts, and grains. They are actually a powerful antioxidant, but they also bind to iron, calcium, and zinc. So, it’s important that your diet is rich in iron, calcium, and zinc if you’re also eating lots of high-phytate foods. Interestingly enough, iron, calcium, and zinc are all found in beans! Most dark leafy greens are also loaded calcium and iron, and Brazil nuts and pumpkin seeds are great sources of zinc.

        Beans highest in phytates include soybeans, navy beans, kidney beans, pinto beans, and peanuts (they’re a bean). Beans that are lower in phytates (with about half the amount) include split peas, lentils, chickpeas, white beans, and mung beans. Soaking beans for 18 hours in very warm water can reduce their phytate content by 50-70%, and soaking also helps to neutralize lectins, the natural toxins found in many foods. Fermenting and sprouting also reduces phytate and lectin content, but it’s not recommended to sprout beans high in lectins (natural toxins). The safest beans to sprout are lentils, peas, adzuki beans, and mung beans. Hope that helps!

  15. Candace says:

    Love me some beans. Especially black beans. Always keep some in the pantry. Also, it saves a lot of time and energy cooking them in a crock pot – after soaking them just dump them in and forget about them for a couple of hours.

  16. Wendy says:

    Adding a Bay leaf or two while cooking helps to lower the gas activation as well!

  17. Morena says:

    This chili looks great! I’m gonna try it!
    How should I add kombu to my bean preparation? Just include it in the soaking process, or actually add it to the cooking/finished dish?

    • Latia says:

      A thumb-sized piece of kombu is added when cooking the beans. Then just pull it out when they’re done.

    • Diane says:

      I usually add about a 2 to 3 inch strip of kombu. This works well if you started with 1 cup dry beans before soaking. Add to the cooking water.

  18. Jane says:

    I LOVE beans and used to eat them on a regular basis…but my gut just can’t seem to tolerate them. The discomfort afterwards isn’t worth it to me anymore, so stopped eating them. Is there anyway of eating beans without having such an effect on my system? Thanks!

    • Try using a pinch of hing when you cook your beans. Hing, a spice/resin used in Indian cooking and also known as asofetida, helps make beans more digestible. It does have a strong smell, though. I suggest keeping your hing in a plastic bag or container and storing in the freezer. Just a pinch will do the job! Also mixing spices with a good oil like coconut or ghee, stirring in spices like cumin, fennel and turmeric, then mixing with the beans, also helps to make them more digestible (and delicious!) and the oil acts as a vehicle for delivering all the nutrients in the beans and spices deep into the tissues, fat, bone, blood and muscles in your body. Depending on your constitution (in Ayurveda it’s called your Dosha) you can also add garlic and onions. Even parsley and coriander. Delicious!

      • Jennell says:

        You might want to try runner beans. Many people that have a hard time with small beans can tolerate runners… myself included. My personal favorites are scarlet runners and Christmas limas. I can eat a pile of these with no ill effect!

  19. Sm says:

    Web team, can you help? I’ve tried accessing the link to Kris’s recent blog article/video about dairy, and no matter which browser I use the page will not load. I see only a blank page.

    Thank you for your help.
    SM

  20. Cathi Herzog says:

    White Bean Salad!! 2 cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed (or cook your own) and add chopped purple onion, chopped red/green/yellow/orange bell peppers, diced plum tomatoes, chopped raw spinach. Mix is all up, add some dried oregano and drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar to taste. This is really a catch-as-catch-can recipe. Whatever looks/feels good to you. Also good stuffed in a pita pocket or served in a half of an avocado.

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