TIP OF THE DAY: Green Salad With Beans
 Romaine, tomatoes and cannellini beans— with some leftover pasta as a bonus. Photo courtesy Galli Restaurant | New York City. |
Want an easy way to add flavor, fiber, protein and other great nutrition to your diet? Eat more beans: affordable, versatile and toothsome.
Simply add them to your daily green salad. Toss them with the greens or sprinkle them on top as a garnish. For variety you can hold the lettuce and make a bean, corn and onion salad or an ever-popular three bean salad. Beyond the familiar—such as black, cannelini, garbanzo, lima, kidney, navy and pinto beans—there are dozens of varieties waiting to make your acquaintance. Take a look at adzuki beans, anasazi beans, purple runners, scarlet runners, yellow eyes and one of our favorite beauties, Good Mother Stallards. |
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A vinaigrette works really well with greens and beans. The salad can be as simple as beans, romaine, tomatoes and vinaigrette with some optional shaved Parmesan cheese. You can also use a Caesar dressing (recipe). Snipping in some fresh herbs adds a lilt to the salad (and just about anything). FRESH & DRIED BEANS VS. CANNED BEANS As with almost every food, fresh (or dried) is better than canned. Not only are the flavor and texture superior, but canned beans are typically packed with a lot of sodium. At farmers markets, look for butterbeans, cannellini beans, cranberry beans and others, fresh in the pod. Shell and simmer them in lightly salted water for 30 minutes. They’re a real treat: Fresh beans have a wonderfully creamy texture that will open your eyes to the beauty of beans. Look for beautiful heirloom beans from Rancho Gordo and Zursun. Their selections of beautiful beans will make you want to cook them every day. We love giving bags of heirloom beans as gifts. |
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