I can’t say I have a particular affinity for lima beans, but I’ve never feared them the way so many people (my mother included) do. Call it more a casual indifference. But when I saw the pretty little pale-green beans, pre-shelled, in a basket at Alexandria’s West End market recently, I couldn’t resist. This simple preparation brought out the beans’ natural creaminess without obscuring their mild flavor. Next time, I might use more garlic instead of onion, but otherwise it was pretty good. And, the husband didn’t hate them, so I’ll count that in the Meatless Monday win column. (The boy is adamant about eating his green veggies frozen at the moment, so he opted for frozen string beans instead.) I also made a stir-fry of squash and peppers from our CSA and served both over basmati rice, making for a pretty hearty fall supper.

Recipe: Creamy Lima Beans

Ingredients:

• 1 pint lima beans, shelled
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, diced
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tablespoons butter
• salt and pepper

Instructions: Place lima beans, onion, garlic and bay leaf in a medium saucepan and cover with water to about an inch over the beans. Bring to a boil over high heat. Boil gently for 15-20 minutes, until beans are fork tender. Drain and rinse with cold water to stop them from cooking. Melt butter in the saucepan and return beans (remove bay leaf) to the pan, stirring to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Makes 4 servings.

Two essential items in the FoodieTots pantry are broth and beans. My favorite broth brand is Pacific – all natural, organic, and comes in handy 1-cup individual cartons that minimize waste when you know you won’t finish a whole full-size carton within the week. I was annoyed that they didn’t have a low-sodium version of the free-range chicken broth, until I had a chance to compare with conventional brands and discovered that it has the same sodium level as the Swanson’s low sodium. Pacific does have lower sodium options, they’re just not stocked at every grocery, and don’t come in the smaller sizes. To further reduce the sodium, I usually do a half-stock, half-water mix when using it in soups or to cook couscous, quinoa, etc.

In my quest for the best organic canned beans (more on that later), I discovered Eden — a family-owned, environmentally-conscious company based in Michigan. They are unique in the bean market in that most of their beans have *no* added salt. And most significantly:

Eden Organic Beans are packed in lead free tin covered steel cans coated with a baked on oleoresinous c-enamel lining that does not contain bisphenol-A (BPA). (Oleoresin is a natural mixture of an oil and a resin extracted from various plants, such as pine or balsam fir). These cans cost 14 percent more than the industry standard cans that do contain BPA. This costs Eden $300,000 more a year. To our knowledge Eden is the only U.S. company that uses this custom made BPA-free can.

(Read more on BPA and canned goods here.)

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turkey white bean chili, originally uploaded by foodietots.

White – cannellini or Northern- beans are a mild choice that nicely complement ground turkey in this healthier chili. I add zucchini, but you could use just about any vegetable you have on hand — carrots, peppers, sweet potatoes would all go well. The toddler devoured this – though the sour cream topping may have been an added incentive.

Ingredients:
1lb. ground turkey
1 yellow onion
2 cloves garlic
1 zucchini, diced
1 14oz can diced tomatoes (I prefer fire-roasted)
1 14oz can white beans, rinsed & drained
1 6oz can tomato paste
½ c water or chicken stock
2 t ground cumin
1 t chili powder
½ t smoked paprika

Instructions:
Brown ground turkey in saucepan over medium heat. Stir in onion and garlic and cook until soft, 2-3 minutes. Add seasonings, tomato paste, beans, tomatoes, water/stock and zucchini. Simmer over medium low heat for 20-30 minutes.

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beans, originally uploaded by foodietots.

Beans are truly a superfood, promising to lower cholesterol, balance blood sugars and fight cancer. Not to mention the protein, fiber and folic acid boost they provide. Organic, low-sodium canned beans are readily available that make it easy to incorporate beans into your family’s diet. The main downside to using canned over dried is the added sodium, so be sure to rinse your beans thoroughly to remove some of the excess salt – this also reportedly helps remove the gas-causing element. Adding garlic or ginger to your beans is also supposed to aid digestion. I’m still struggling to overcome a childhood aversion to black beans, so for this series of experiments I started with the milder cannellini and garbanzo beans. If anyone has a favorite black bean recipe to share, please pass it on!

For more on using canned beans, including additional recipes, check out this Green Guide article.